


Learning to Love

by ASimpleArchivist



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: (but it's bc she reminds him of Genji ssshh he doesn't realize), All he wanted was to get the blessing and live the rest of his life wallowing in self-pity, And a couple of things might be out of order, Angst, Based on a Tumblr Post, Based on a prompt from tumblr, But what else is new?, Cursed Hanzo, Dragon!Hanzo, F/M, Female Reader, Hanzo admits that you're 'not UNattractive', Hanzo is a sassy lil shit even as a noodle dragon, Hanzo just needs some love, Hanzo just wants to Sleep™, Hanzo's a little shit, Hanzo's wary around Asami, I still don't know Japanese, Mentions of Blood, Minor wounds, Noodle dragon!Hanzo, Or at least has lived in America all her life, Point of view will switch between Reader-chan and Hanzo, Pompous Boi™, Poor bb, Reader Insert, Reader is implied to be from America, Reader's probably too patient with him, She figures out pretty quick that he's used to being spoiled, Sleepovers, The story pretty much follows the flow of the headcanons, Your dad is bad at taking care of himself, bc Hanzo is turned into a noodle dragon, bc not everybody in the world is still open to others, but I'll add some stuff in here and there, fem!reader - Freeform, give him a hug, hello hi this story is not dead, in this chapter, it takes a while, light cursing, more and more Genji Allusions™, please correct me if I've used wrong expressions or smth, reader's faced some unsavory people in Hanamura and Asami is Livid™, reader's kind of insecure, slow burn?, the emotionally repressed bb, there's a smidgen of, y'know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2018-07-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 02:49:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 29,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9472205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ASimpleArchivist/pseuds/ASimpleArchivist
Summary: "You are not worthy, Hanzo Shimada. You have forgotten love, and honor, and kindness, and in so, you have forgotten us." The spirit's mouth pursed, and he glanced to the other ancestors gathered around him, who all nodded in unison. "As punishment, you will be cursed until you remember."Hanzo almost, very nearly snorted. "A punishment? For what? I have done nothing wrong.""That is where your deepest fault lies." Chikao's eyes glimmered with something Hanzo almost perceived to be exasperation. "Your pride has overcome you. You have become incompetent, and your curse will reflect your lack of integrity. You are not worthy of the true power of the Shimada dragons."Alternative summary:In his guilt and sorrow of murdering his brother, Hanzo Shimada reduces himself to a life of bitterness and self-loathing within the walls of his estate. He strove to receive the blessing of the great dragon soul from the Shimada ancestors, but they cursed him instead so he would learn how to have kindness in his heart again, for the head of the clan should possess not only have power but compassion as well. And, well...maybe you'll end up being his saving grace.





	1. Unworthy

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, Overwatch community! I'm new here, so I'll try my best to make my mark. ;)  
> This story is basically a novelization(?) of luvleekaotix-imagines' headcanons about Dragon!Hanzo and his little reader-chan. You can find it here: http://luvleekaotix-imagines.tumblr.com/post/148084064513/after-reading-what-you-wrote-for-werewolfmccree. (If you want to be spoiled, that is, but it's really an adorable idea and I love it to death.) She gets all the credit for this story and idea, too - I'm just a humble fanfic writer who seeks to please. Hope I do it justice. :)  
> As always, enjoy!

"You are not worthy, Hanzo Shimada."

"I have completed the rituals, the trials - _all of them_ , to _perfection_ -" The bubbling heat of anger swelled up into his voice, and he restrained his will of wanting to stand and face the ethereal blue spirits head-on. " _How_ am I not worthy?!"

The ancient spirit before him raised a wiry brow, his expression unyielding. "There is more to receiving the power than just the traditional requirements, Hanzo. You have lost yourself in your obsession to receive the blessing, and in so doing, have forgotten what it means to be the leader of the clan."

Hanzo gritted his teeth, his fists tightening at his sides. "I haven't-"

"Enough." Chikao - their clan's founder, the most noble of his ancestors and definitely the most honorable, by far - dismissed him with a breif gesture. "You have forgotten love, and honor, and kindness, and in so, you have forgotten us." The spirit's mouth pursed, and he glanced to the other ancestors gathered around him, who all nodded in unison. "As punishment, you will be cursed until you remember."

Hanzo almost, very nearly snorted. "A punishment? For what? I have done nothing wrong."

"That is where your deepest fault lies." Chikao's eyes glimmered with something Hanzo almost perceived to be exasperation. "Your pride has overcome you. You have become incompetent, and your curse will reflect your lack of integrity. You are not worthy of the true power of the Shimada dragons."

Hanzo's mouth snapped open, his voice swelling in his throat in preparation to shout, when a blinding flash of white made him grunt and shield his eyes. When he peered out from around his arm, he growled out an angered sigh. The ancestors had gone.

He examined his hands briefly, eyeing his arms and attempting to find any sign of evident change. There was none. Perhaps the old fools had forgotten in their rush to retreat from him.

Hanzo rose to his feet, grumbling beneath his breath and snuffing out the incense before gathering up the lavish items of offering in his arms. Whatever curse the ancestors had laid upon him, if they even had laid one, its effects weren't obvious. He could deal with whatever they'd deemed suitable for such a seemingly petty thing. He was the patriarch for his clan - the leader, a warrior - a man of incredible repute; the curse would be dismissive, at most. In the least, he would just ignore it and go about his life as he was until the ancestors decided that their opinion of him was unfounded and irrational, as he knew it was.

* * *

_He was suffocating._

Hanzo gasped, clawing at the sheets over his head. It was hot and dark and he couldn't _breathe_ -

Cool air kissed his face when he dragged himself out from beneath the heavy cover of expensive linens, flopping down as he wheezed for air to calm the pulse pounding in his head and against the inside of his chest.

Something wasn't right.

Firstly, his pillow was far, far too large - and his sheets had never felt so heavy before.

Hanzo nearly shouted when he looked down and saw a winding, blue-scaled tail trailing out from his vision. He reached out, only to recoil when a clawed paw entered his vision, and he scrabbled over to the edge of the bed to peer over its edge. His bed had dwarfed him, and the distance from the mattress to the ground was...a bit unnerving.

He looked up to the floor length mirror directly across from him and nearly choked on his own tongue. He...he had...he'd turned into a...

Hanzo refused to say he'd turned into a dragon. The likes of what he'd been... _transformed_ into resembled nothing of the great Shimada dragons that protected his family and gave their souls to bond with the head of each generation. He was nothing compared to the scale of their grandeur - he'd seen his father shift once, in his youth, and he looked like a dragon shrunken down ten times and reduced of all the splendor...

...He refused to say he felt shame. He had done nothing deserving of this...this utter _ridicule_. _Nothing_. The ancestors were disillusioned and delusional, how _dare_ they impose this _cruelty_ upon him. He had things to attend to, and he most certainly couldn't do _anything_ in this form.

Hanzo groaned loudly, but it reached his ears as a ridiculously high-pitched whine. _Shit, no._

No. No; he wouldn't allow himself to be distracted by this - he would deal with this. If he hadn't transformed the previous night, then perhaps it was only diurnal. He could avoid the servants until then - he could hide, and they would think he was keeping to himself, as he often did. It would be of no consequence.

He could do this.

* * *

He couldn't do this.

Three days had passed. Three days of finding more and more hiding places capable of concealing his ridiculously long body; three days of sneaking into the kitchens as soon the cooks would leave and struggling to find something that he could eat; three long, long days of hoping none of his servants or guards found him, for fear of them not realizing what (or who) he was and killing him. He couldn't speak in this form, so he was little more than helpless. He possessed absolutely none of the power the great Shimada dragons did; he couldn't even phase through anything. He was completely corporeal.

And, in being completely corporeal, he was also frighteningly mortal. He had already fallen off several things recurrently, always with a painful thump to the hardwood floors or the rocky ground of the garden where he retreated the previous day in search of the old fountain due to his thirst. Learning to walk had been such a damned _chore_ \- his legs were weak and short, so he relied mostly upon wriggling his way everywhere, digging his claws beneath him to propel him forward and to hope no one rounded the corner ahead of him. He was constantly aware of any sort of cover or hiding place, sticking only to areas he learned had small nooks he could curl up in and pray the servants or guards would pass him none the wiser.

The constant stress and fear and _crawling_ was wholly _exhausting_ \- every evening he returned to his room hoping that he would get some decent sleep.

He had been cursing the spirits the entirety of those days, but the ancestors did apparently possess a minuscule amount of mercy. When the sun had disappeared beneath the far horizon after the first day, Hanzo had spent the next five minutes shifting back into his human form. And it _hurt_. It hurt so badly that he feared he would draw attention to himself from his servants with his involuntary cries of agony as his bones snapped and his skin stretched and he grew back into his normal human self. No one came, however, much to his relief - but he did spend a good portion of the night constructing a letter informing his staff that they were deserving of a holiday and were relieved of their duties until he informed them otherwise. He would still send them their monthly payments, if it extended for that long of a period.

He had hoped that maybe that act of consideration would appease his ancestors, but, much to his disdain, it did not. The following morning he woke once more in his spindly dragon form and sighed before nibbling at the apple he'd left on his nightstand in anticipation for any possible disappointment, so he wouldn't have to go to the kitchens that morning.

His servants had all been concerned and confused by his abrupt 'gift' of leave time - he had never done so before, and his absence in the past few days had been just a bit odd, even in his questionable behavior. They didn't question it too greatly, for which he was thankful - fortunately, he had added that he would be gone for a few days to an undisclosed location, so they wouldn't attempt to seek him out.

So, within the span of a day of being reclusive in the bell tower and watching all his servants leave one by one out of the main gates, his estate's population was reduced to one. And suddenly his home felt very, very lonely.

But, he made good of his predicament - he would attempt to survive during the day, then gather necessities and tend to business during the night. It was difficult, but after a while, sleeping through his painful transition became easier.

He had reduced all interaction with the outside world to a bare minimum. The weekly delivery of market-fresh food was reduced to fruits and berries only and rescheduled for the evenings, so he could look like some semblance of a normal man (Never mind the estranged expressions the deliveryman gave at the sight of Hanzo and _only_ Hanzo helping him unload the meager collection of only five crates into the store room, with a significant lack of servants doing it for him. But, he hadn't asked, and Hanzo hadn't offered any explanation.). He scheduled for the fewest, most experienced guards to patrol at night for when he was incapacitated. The gardeners only visited once weekly to trim or mow, if even necessary - the winter months were drawing gradually closer, and their maintenance would soon be obsolete. Hanzo hoped this ordeal would be over with by then.

Alas, it only proved to become more difficult.

When he hit the one week mark, he still hadn't had any sign of turning back into his normal human self. He was absolutely dismayed, wailing in frustration and wondering what the ancestors were asking of him. He hadn't done anything wrong, he'd thought - all he'd wanted was to become the proper head of the clan and to be able to live his life without further strife.

...It was because of Genji, wasn't it?

The thought struck him on the ninth day, when he'd slipped off the counter in the kitchen in an attempt to get to the sink in hopes of drinking anything besides the fountain water from the garden. He couldn't fathom anything else that might've called for an extreme such as this. Why it hadn't occurred to him sooner was of little wonder, and he resolved himself to the task of gathering the necessary offering items. The ancestors' spirits could only be summoned at certain times of the month, and that night was the only chance he had before he had to wait another long month for any sort of contact with them.

* * *

The ancestors hadn't come.

Or, rather, only Chikao made himself known (but Hanzo really hadn't wanted to see him, if he were completely honest with himself), the bright flash of blue making Hanzo squeeze his eyes shut in hopes of not being blinded. The spirit looked far too much larger than him for his liking, but he couldn't do much about it in his state.

The old man's face was not amused. "You have yet to prove yourself worthy, Hanzo," he began, his tone dismissive.

"I do not understand why I deserve this," Hanzo pressed, his claws scraping against the old grain of wood beneath him. Hanzo had wondered if the spirits would be able to understand him in this form, but his worries were rendered obsolete as the patriarch settled to the floor with crossed legs, staring at the small dragon with his ever-impassive stare.

"You always thought yourself independent to a fault," the man rumbled. "In this form you have a dependence that you will need to rectify-"

"Is this because of what I did to Genji?"

The spirit fell silent, and for a long moment Hanzo feared he would leave.

"No." Scratching at the scraggly beard adorning the man's wrinkled chin, Chikao leveled him with a look that told Hanzo that he shouldn't speak out again without consequences. "That is something that will need to be addressed later. For now, you must be tempered. Think of a slab of steel in need of hammering to be able to be formed into a fine blade. You have the potential to be something greater than what you are now, but you are in need of much help, Hanzo. Being stubborn about this will only make it harsher for you."

Hanzo tried to quell the angered growl that threatened to bubble forth from his throat (more comparable to a squeak, but he would never dare admit that to himself) as he felt frustration swell up within him.

"What must I do?" he asked, gritting his teeth together. "What must I do to fix this?"

Chikao's expression seemed to soften, if only just barely. It wasn't that much of a difference, honestly. "Past happenings have harmed you, Hanzo, and you have also harmed yourself. You have forgotten how to love in your loss, and you must remember in able to grow to your full potential."

Hanzo wanted to ask him more - the spirit's somewhat vague answer only served to raise more questions within Hanzo's mind than answer what ones he'd had - but Chikao reached out and brushed the end of his snout with a fingertip. Hanzo didn't feel it, of course - the man was incorporeal, and in that, he couldn't touch him - but the action startled him into silence nonetheless.

"Your answer will find you in its own time," the old spirit told him. "Be willing to accept it, to accept the change it will invoke in you, and everything will become better."

And like the last time, he disappeared with a flash of light before the room fell dark once more. Hanzo didn't bother trying to take the items of offering with him that time.


	2. Wariness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, first of all - thank you all for your extremely kind words! I greatly appreciate your consideration and I hope that I continue to please as the story goes on. I have one more chapter in reserves, and I'm working on the one after that, but I'll try to update a couple times a week. Hopefully, this'll go well and I'll be able to keep up with updates. *crosses fingers* But, anyway! Point of view's going to start shifting from reader-chan now. Kind of short, but it picks up in the next one. Enjoy! :D

God, it was cold. Why was is so cold? You hadn't done anything to deserve this.

Of course, you usually didn't stay out this late in the evening, but tonight had been a special exception. A special exception that had quickly soured and had decidedly not been worth the time or effort. Another date gone, another chance at happiness and love diced. You were fairly close to giving up at this point.

You sighed softly, watching as the vapors puffed up and dissipated in the ghostly white rays of the streetlights looming over you. Walking home might've not been the best idea, especially for the area of Hanamura you lived in, but you'd just wanted to get out of there. The discomfort you'd felt upon sitting across from the guy your classmate had linked you up with had only grown as time passed. You'd barely been able to eat your food, you'd been so anxious about leaving.

Maybe it was just you. Everyone you'd dated had seemed like fairly nice people - they'd had a few flaws, but that was normal, right? Maybe a bit questionable at times, but you knew you had quirks, too. It always seemed to be you that didn't enjoy the dates, or be the first one to leave or pull away from a hug (you hadn't even ever made it far enough to kiss anyone). Was something wrong with you?

You sighed again, glancing across the street towards the massive stone wall towering far above your head and the buildings on your side of the street.

You'd heard it guarded an estate belonging to a powerful clan, extremely wealthy and powerful, but you'd only ever seen the outside walls and the courtyard on the rare occasion that the colossal wooden doors would be open. Although that's about where your curiosity ended - you never tended to pry into anyone's business, but you had to admit that you envied the family that lived on the inside of those walls.

It was when you were about to take a right turn down your street when you noticed something oddly colored on the sidewalk across from you. It was almost a fluorescent blue, curled up in between the roots of one of the decorative trees that was planted in every other segment of the concrete.

Normally, you would've just let it lie, but it looked like it could potentially be something of use - maybe a scarf or something. So, you glanced both ways - the street was completely barren, except for a few parked cars here and there and you - before trotting across the road. It was only when you reached the edge of the sidewalk that you heard a hiss. You recoiled a bit, sidestepping into the light to try and squint down at the thing.

Okay, upon closer examination, it was a snake, or a lizard of some kind. Bright blue - that probably meant it was poisonous, right? You should probably call animal control or something. You thought you remembered there being a pet store near here, so maybe it had escaped.

But it was then you noticed that there was a splash of scarlet painting its side, and one of its hind legs was bent awkwardly beneath it. It was probably a lizard if it had legs, then. Its glinting yellow eyes were staring up at you, not blinking, and you felt as though it was daring you to come closer.

Well, that certainly changed things. You couldn't just leave the poor thing out here in the cold - it would very well die, from either blood loss or freezing to death. Didn't reptiles depend on warmth to stay warm themselves?

Now, you had a pretty strong sense of good judgement. But you hadn't had much sleep in the past week due to finals, and your brain was on its last little keg of smarts juice, so despite the voice in the back of your head warning you against it, you approached the snake-lizard thing.

It hissed again, louder this time, and drew its little head back while baring its needle-like teeth. Wow, you hadn't noticed the horns before. Definitely some kind of fancy-bred lizard, then. Surely it wasn't poisonous, right? Lizards weren't poisonous, as far as you remembered.

"Hey, buddy," you cooed softly, "calm yourself. I'm just trying to help you."

It growled a bit, pressing itself closer to the ground despite the oddly bent leg beneath it. It snapped at your fingers when your hand drew too close, but you lashed out with the other and secured its jaw between your thumb and forefinger so it couldn't bite. (Thank god that you volunteered at a veterinary clinic once for high school credits - you'd never thought you'd be putting that to use, but hey; thanks, Doctor Clarey.)

It thrashed quite a bit, its tiny short legs trying to claw at you, but they were too far down its body to pose any true threat. It was almost funny, the way it was wiggling so furiously.

You chuckled a bit and tucked it in the crook of your arm against your chest, watching as it curled its tail around the wrist holding its head. It had some kind of bristles down the length of its spine, though it resembled fur more than anything. Its scales were worryingly cold against your skin and you drew it against the soft material of your coat. "I'll get you warmed up, buddy," you murmured, glancing up and down the street and beginning to cross quickly. "Just don't poison me and we'll be cool."

It growled again, but it was quieter this time. The vibration against your wrist persisted for a while, but the further you walked the sound tapered off until you were pretty sure that it had either fallen asleep or unconscious.

* * *

It jerked against your arm when you fished your keys from your pocket, fingering through them until you got the right one. It began to struggle a bit as you unlocked your door and bumped it open with your hip, and you pinned it firmly to your chest to keep it from hurting itself further. "Come on, you were fine with me earlier," you said, maneuvering the door shut behind you before locking it again. It was a bit more difficult, only being able to use one hand, but you managed to drop your messenger bag and move towards the couch.

It was only when you sat down that you realized that you had nowhere to put the darned creature. There was no tank or cage to be had within your apartment walls, as your landlord didn't allow conventional pets; but you were allergic to most dogs and cats anyway, so pets hadn't ever really been one of your priorities. Luckily you weren't allergic to reptiles, so that had been one of the few types of animals you'd been able to doctor on at Doctor Clarey's. Admittedly, you weren't the best intern they'd ever had, but he had always admired your patience and your willingness to help in any situation. He'd been sad to see you go after you had graduated from high school, but he'd wished you well.

The snake-lizard was growling again, its front feet grappling at your skin, but it was trying to keep its hinder quarters still.

"Okay." You squeezed your eyes shut a moment, trying to think of what you could put the creature in to keep it from curling up somewhere and hiding. Maybe the bathtub?

You stood and made your way into your meager bathroom, grabbing an old towel from the rack and bunching it into a haphazard bed. You slowly lowered the lizard onto it. It let out a snarl and pressed itself against the back wall of the tub, as far away from you as possible and hissing all the while.

You sighed, eyeing the walls of the tub. You doubted it could crawl out on its own with its leg being injured, but you figured the bathtub was too tall and slick for it anyway. Hopefully, it would stay put until you could get all you needed.

You made quick work of grabbing the first aid kit from the kitchenette. You didn't know how bad the wound was, and you wouldn't until you managed to hold it down long enough without it struggling, so you briefly considered drugging a bit of food or water with Benadryl, but you weren't sure if it would have an adverse effect on the poor thing or not. The last thing you wanted was for the little guy to die by your own clumsy hand.

Stepping cautiously back into the bathroom, you peered around the corner. The lizard was still there, thankfully - it had stilled and burrowed itself into the towel, probably in search of warmth. There was already a sizable red stain marring the fuzzy white material. You felt a flush of concern wash over you at its sudden stillness. It would be an advantage, perhaps, so you wouldn't have to worry about it biting you, but usually that only happened when severe blood loss was taking place.

"Oh, lord," you mumbled, dropping to the floor beside the tub and opening up the first aid kit. The clicking sound must've roused the creature, because its eyes snapped open and its head snapped up.

"Well, I can't say I'm disappointed that you're awake," you remarked, "but I'm not happy either. Just don't bite me, and we'll be good."

It snorted a bit, which surprised you. But its eyes were glassier than they were before, and its breathing looked shallower. You had to work fast.

You grabbed its jaw again, gentler than before but still firm because of your apprehension. The derned thing was so long that you had to pin almost your entire forearm against its lengthy chest to keep it from wiggling everywhere. It was snarling and snapping despite the hold you had beneath its jaw, but you managed to turn its hip so you could look at its wounded leg.

It wasn't too bad, but it was worse than you would've liked. It wasn't very deep but it stretched across the length of its thigh, the scales torn away from the skin. It looked as though it'd fallen off of something high up onto the concrete or something. Poor darling.

"Don't worry," you cooed, reaching over into the first aid kit for an antiseptic wipe. "I'll get you all fixed up in no time."

It let out a drawn-out whine as you tore the packet with your teeth, pulling the swab out of the plastic and beginning to clean the blood off of its exposed skin. This lizard was a lot more vocally expressive than any reptile you'd had experience with, but then again, it wasn't like any breed you'd ever seen. It looked like one of the mystical dragons out of Japanese lore had jumped off of a painting. Maybe it had been genetically modified to look like one.

The blood was easy enough to clean up, and after a while the poor thing stopped struggling. It was probably getting weaker. Luckily, the wound had already begun to congeal a little bit. You worried if it had lacerated a muscle or broken a bone, but from your examination it didn't seem as though that were the case. You tested the joints gently, bending its ankle and knee tentatively. Besides the fact that the skin stretched and the little lizard hissed, it looked as though the injury extended only into its flesh.

"Good news, little guy," you mumbled, reaching back into the first aid kit and grabbing a cotton ball, working it with your teeth until it was stretched out and grabbing the bandage tape. "I think you're going to be okay."

It huffed softly as you began to wrap the cotton around its thigh, biting a small section of the tape - just enough to wrap around and hold the cotton in place. All at once you let the creature go, and it drew away from you but didn't leave its makeshift bed. It sniffed at the bandage and you hoped it wouldn't mess with it, but much to your startle it huffed a bit and let it alone, lowering its head to the towel and watching you warily.

"Well." You relieved the itch that had flared in your brow, considering your options. "Now that that's over with...what am I going to do with you?"

The snake-lizard snorted softly, shifting a bit and curling its tail around its injured side. You really didn't quite know what to think of it, its behavior. It was frankly the strangest creature you'd ever seen. At least it seemed smart. "I guess you wouldn't let me move you, huh?"

It didn't move, its gleaming yellow eye staring impassively up at you. It still looked glassy, and its eyelid was trying to droop.

You closed the first aid kit and grabbed the bloodied sterile pad, tossing it in the trash before you stood slowly. It only watched as you set the kit down on the sink counter before you washed your hands thoroughly. You glanced towards it as you dried your hands. Maybe you should get it some water. From all the blood it lost, it would need to drink quite a bit to recover completely.

You made a quick trip to the kitchen, fishing a water bottle out of the fridge and filling up a small bowl. You were careful not to slosh it around, taking your time to go back to the bathroom and slip through the door.

The little guy had stilled, but when you stepped onto the tiles it lifted its head and narrowed its eyes at you. You quickly but carefully set the bowl of water beside the makeshift bed near its head, and fortunately it didn't try to bite you again. At least that was something. It sniffed at the water a moment before looking back up to you and snorting, resting its chin on the towel once more and resuming its incessant stare.

You sighed softly and, not really knowing what else you could do for the poor thing at this point, you flicked off the light and closed the door. You hoped it wouldn't try to move around too much or try to get out, but you hadn't anywhere else secure to put him. Maybe you could borrow a tank from your biology professor.

You would have to do a little research, but you were too tired and all you wanted was to get some sleep. Hopefully you wouldn't have a dead snake-lizard whenever you would go to check on it in the morning.

So, changing out of your pajamas and deciding that you could go a night without brushing your teeth (just for the sake of giving the little guy some well-deserved peace), you settled into bed and hoped that nothing bad would result in this quite questionable turn of events.


	3. Experimentation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I know this is extremely stereotypical but I must once again thank you for all of your kind comments and kudos - they mean very much to me, and I'm glad that I'm doing what y'all consider a good job! :D  
> But, I must remind that all the credit doesn't go to me - KC from luvleekaotix-imagines on tumblr came up with this idea and I owe her for the inspiration that it has invoked in me. Go give her a visit or a follow, for me. <3  
> On a side note, I legitimately Googled these things (minus the expletives, but that's not really important) and found out quite a few things that I didn't know before! Lizards can eat their adult counterparts' full diet upon hatching from their eggs, and Iguanas are strictly vegetarian.  
> Also, would any of you guys be interested in the fanart I've drawn for this story? I've got two pages of doodles I've considered scanning and posting on my DeviantArt page, but I didn't figure anybody would know what it was. Anyone want to see that?

Yay for weekends and yay for Saturday morning grogginess.

The alarm on your phone had less than two seconds to go off before you snatched it up from your nightstand, switching it off before drowsily checking your email. Nothing important, as ever always.

You sighed softly as you rested your eyes and savored the comfortable warmth seeping into your bones thanks to your sheets. You considered the pros and cons of sleeping some more, but it was then that you remembered what had happened the previous night.

Right. Blue snake-lizard. It was hurt, and you were helping it. It tried to bite you. You didn't know how to take care of a reptile.

You groaned, pressing your face into your pillow. You had planned on just taking the weekend off, but apparently the world had other plans for you.

It took a bit for you to actually sit up and get your laptop from the foot of your bed (You were both mystified and thankful at how you had managed not to kick it off at some point during the night.). Pulling up the ever-trusty friend of your internet browser, you considered what your priorities were. You could figure out what specific kind of thing it was later, you just had to find out what it was going to have to eat.

_'What do snakes eat?'_

As you'd suspected, the initial results leaned towards rats and mice as being their primary food source. But the poor thing's mouth just looked a bit too small to be able to eat any kind of mouse. With your original observations of the creature leaning towards having more lizard-like features you then Googled, _'What do lizards eat?'_

A lot more relevant information was brought up, and you breathed out in a bit of relief. One site provided all the info a person who wasn't familiar with taking care of a pet lizard would need to know, and you read it through before bookmarking it and closing your laptop. You had quite a bit of work to do.

Firstly, you were going to have to figure out if it was an herbivore or a carnivore - you had both possibilities available in your fridge, but you might would have to visit that pet store down the street for some advice if you didn't come away certain. If the poor thing was carnivorous then you would have to buy some crickets or something.

Entering the kitchen and hissing as your bare feet came into contact with the cold laminate floor, you went over to the fridge and grabbed a little slab of bacon and peeled an orange. You took a slice from the juicy fruit and placed both pieces of food in a paper towel before padding towards the bathroom.

Sudden apprehension struck you as you approached the door, and you bit your lip. What if it had died some time during the night? You didn't know how well you would be able to take it, despite not having known the poor darling for long.

Attempting to swallow the cold lump that had managed to swell in the back of your throat, you opened the door and pushed it in a bit to peer inside.

The snake-lizard was sitting quietly, and it raised its head when yours appeared around the corner of the door. You blinked at it and it blinked in return, before its jaws parted a bit and it let out a drawn out, chirp-like sound.

Letting out a breath of relief, you stepped inside and shut the door behind you before settling on the outside of the tub.

"Alright, little buddy," you remarked, unfurling the paper towel in your lap as you eyed its leg, "let's see what you eat; 'cause, frankly, I don't have a damned clue."

It hadn't tried to mess with the bandage, as far as you were able to tell, and you were quite a bit thankful for that. Maybe it was sensible enough to tell that you were trying to help. You also noticed that its water bowl was empty, which was a bit impressive for its comparatively small...uh, circumference. Again, the length of its body was more snake-like, but it wasn't nearly as long as some you'd seen online, in the veterinarian's office, and occasionally in zoos. But, then again, you weren't exactly sure how much blood it had lost before you'd found it, so it was understandable. If anything, it alleviated just a little more of your worry for its health.

"Okay." You grabbed the slab of bacon and tentatively held it out to the creature. "Are you a man-eater?"

But you'd be damned if the thing sniffed at it once before turning up its snooty little nose at it and gave you frankly the most offended look you'd ever seen in your life. It actually struck a laugh in you - cats' expressions of superiority didn't even compare to its narrowed eyes and pupils. Holy shit, it had even curled its lip a little bit. Its teeth were enviously white and worryingly sharp.

"Okay, okay," you chuckled, dropping the bacon on the paper towel and picking up the orange slice. "Let's try this instead."

Again, you held out your humble offering to the reptile, and much to your surprise its eyes widened suddenly before its head lashed out at your hand. You panicked a bit, yelping and jerking your hand back, but the little thing yanked the orange slice out of your fingers and pulled it within range of its front claws. You watched in awe as it dug its claws into the skin and shredded it while it began to gnaw at the end, ripping the flesh of it off and tilting its mouth back to scarf it down. It immediately went back for more, orange juice soon beginning to dribble down its jaws and its neck as it tore and chewed and swallowed repetitively. The poor guy must've been really, really hungry, to inhale it as it was. It was even starting to make little churring noises that you presumed to be of content.

Unfortunately, with the gusto at which the snake-lizard had consumed the slice, it was soon gone and the only remains of it were the seeds that it guy had spit out and the juice dripping down its mouth and front. It seemed crestfallen to discover this, and it tilted its head to look up at you with the brightest eyes you'd seen from it so far.

Another laugh bubbled up in your throat and you regarded the creature with a widening smile. "I guess you're going to want more, huh?"

It made another one of the churring noises and you bit your lip before reaching out with your arm. Its head drew back, and you flattened your hand so it wouldn't think you were going to hit it. "I can carry you in there, if you want."

You really had been debating on whether this thing had a certain level of intelligence - at some points during the previous night, it had really seemed as though it had understood you - but this morning's interactions and its next action cemented that theory of yours.

It sniffed warily at your fingers for a brief moment, stared up at you and then back at your hand, paused, then slowly reached out and set its front feet onto your fingers. You reached out with your other hand to draw it onto your arm and slowly lifted it against your abdomen to support it. It wobbled a bit on the way up, but once it settled against the front of your shirt it relaxed and made that churring sound again, but this time with more of a chirp-like abruptness. It wasn't trying to bite you, and it wasn't trying to jump away from you. You were honestly quite dumbstruck.

At another insistent noise from the little guy, you stood carefully and grabbed the paper towel before making your way carefully into the living room. Your thoughts were racing at a mile per minute and you were trying not to stare at the reptile you were caressing against your stomach. Its head was twisting to and fro, as though it were looking about the room, and when you turned into the kitchenette its head perked up even more.

Okay, if it were familiarized with humans like it seemed to be, then maybe it _had_ been domesticated before, like you'd thought. It was remarkably intelligent and seemed to comprehend human speech. You'd heard the smartest dogs were poodles, but you were pretty sure this little guy was starting to outrank them by a mile.

It chirped when you got closer to the counter where you'd left the rest of the peeled orange, and you tossed the bacon and paper towel into the trash before grabbing a dish towel and the orange. You moved over to the table and laid out the dish towel, setting the orange upon it and carefully lowering the snake-lizard to its surface.

In no time at all, it was already setting to work on the fruit, smacking and churring all the while. You chuckled, watching in amusement before you realized that you were quite hungry, too.

It was almost mechanical, how you systematically got bread from the bag and put the slices in the toaster before opening the cabinet above it and grabbing your favorite hazelnut spread (you know the one). You glanced over at the little guy every so often to make sure it wouldn't try to jump off the table, but it was still being pretty persistent about ingesting as much of the orange in as little time as possible.

Man, surely it hadn't been laying out in the cold _that_ long. It was either being influenced by blood loss or hunger, and you hoped it was blood loss. But it was almost cute, watching it grip the orange with its little feet and gnaw at it like a chew toy before ripping it from the rest of the segment. It certainly sounded happy, at least.

The toast sprung up and you got a knife from the drawer, slathering a rather questionable amount on each slice before splicing them together. You dropped the knife in the sink and opened up the fridge for the glass of milk you'd left in there a couple of nights ago.

An insistent chirp drew your attention as you turned, and a laugh burst from your lips as soon as you did. The snake-lizard had feasted upon at least a quarter of the orange, at most one half of it, and its entire face looked sticky with juice and pulp. It was licking quite insistently at its lips with a deep-seated content glowing in its eyes.

"I guess you enjoyed that, huh?" you inquired with a grin. You would have to put the rest in a bag and save it for later. You eyed the mess it had made of itself and decided that you were going to have to do something about it before the poor thing got sticky all over. "You need a bath."

Its head drew back in alarm and you laughed again, setting your toast aside and picking the little guy up again, easier this time. You made your way over to the industrial-sized sink. You set it down on the counter and plugged the sink up, turning on the faucet and testing the temperature as it filled. The little guy seemed apprehensive, but you didn't let it get too deep or hot.

"All right," you said with an apologetic smile while you reached over to the bottle of dish detergent, "let's get you cleaned up."

The snake-lizard let out an adamant bark of protest when you carefully placed him in the belly-deep water, but once it felt the temperature it seemed to melt.

"I'll bet it feels nice," you remarked, drizzling a bit of the soap into your palm. You spied the cotton of the bandage you'd given him get wet. "Probably should clean that and replace the bandage anyway."

After the initial push, the lizard didn't resist as badly. On the contrary, despite its obvious initial aversion to your touch, once you started rubbing the soap up and down its long back it seemed to relax as that same persistent churr began to rumble in its throat. It took a bit of effort to clean the previously undetected grime from its scales and fur (and yes, it was fur lining its spine down to its tail - you hadn't noticed before, and you were definitely starting to consider purposeful breeding to produce such a fascinating creature). It whined a bit when you had to clean its head, but it didn't try to bite your fingers.

"Such a good boy," you cooed, as you began to rinse it off with palm fulls of warm water. You paused, then pursed your lips. "...If you _are_ a boy. You could be a girl, for all I know."

Its eyes narrowed right before it nipped at an unfortunate finger and you yelped before jerking it away. It didn't break the skin, but it stung. "Hey!"

The creature let out a huffy snort and turned its nose up towards you.

...It was starting to scare you at how smart this thing seemed to be.

"Since you bit me..." You poked its chest. "I'm assuming you are indeed a dude."

You could swear he rolled his eyes at you. You swore it.

"Okay, then..." You finished up rinsing him off and pulled the drain out from beneath him. "I think you're going to end up turning out smarter than me, at this rate." You reached into a nearby drawer and drew out another dish towel. "I really hope you're not an alien that's going to eat me from the inside out or something."

Twice was a charm. You were positive he had rolled his eyes at you again, with a derisive little snort to add a bit of spunk. You smothered it with the towel, scrubbing the residual moisture away from his scales as you hummed.

"Well, little dude," you said, just as his head popped out from the towel and you worked your way down his long neck. "I'm going to have to start calling you something, because I think I'm going to run out of 'little buddies' eventually. How about..." You clicked your tongue, squeezing at his forelegs and pressing behind them. "...Henry."

He actually growled at you, eyes narrowing again in obvious disdain.

"Okay, then," you amended, "not Henry. Harold?"

Yeah, there it was again - he rolled his eyes for a third time as you began to make your way down his back.

"You're a sassy one, Har..." You beamed suddenly. "Harry!"

He snorted. Nope.

Several more names went by, and it was when you were rubbing the water out of the little tuft of fur on the end of his tail that you thought of something potentially brilliant.

"Dude, you're like a giant blue udon noodle." You tossed the dish towel onto the counter for cinematic effect. "Odon."

He stared at you for a long moment, maybe in incredulity, before he huffed and rolled his eyes yet again. At least he hadn't nipped at you again like when you'd joked about calling him 'Baby Blue', so that was something.

"You know it means 'wealthy defender'," you remarked, setting the dish soap back to its place on the other side of the sink. "And you seem like a spoiled bastard. I can't say you'd be a very intimidating guard dog, though."

When you turned back to look at him, he was regarding you with a neutral gaze. He almost looked thoughtful. And then he churred again, and it was a lot breathier than before, but it was the closest thing you'd gotten to approval so far.

You smiled in triumph, arming him up and moving back over to the kitchen table. "Odon. Awesome. Okay. Now I just got to get you to stop biting me."

You were pretty sure that this dude was a cheeky bastard, because he nipped at your thumb just before you put him down on the table.

* * *

Odon seemed to relax considerably after that, settling on the table as you sat down to eat breakfast. He watched you the whole time, but after a while he seemed to get bored and curled up, resting his chin on his tail. His eyelids drifted closed after a while, but it was just before you stood up to rinse out the glass of milk you'd drank. Maybe he had to take frequent naps? Or maybe he was cold - you'd read that reptiles get lethargic when their body temperature gets lower. You would have to do something about that.

You went to the bathroom and brought the first aid kit back, and he didn't make much of a fuss when you removed the soggy cotton and cleaned off the dried blood from the wound. It looked a little bit better when it wasn't actively bleeding, but it was probably going to take a while for his leg to heal completely. This time you wrapped legitimate gauze around it and secured it with more bandage tape, a bit tighter this time. He hissed quietly, but after testing his foot he seemed to deem it acceptable.

After that, you'd drawn him up in your arm and stepped into the living room, setting him down on the couch before you began to ponder. You couldn't leave him in the bathroom all the time, because you would eventually have to shower and take care of human business and you didn't know how comfortable you would be to have him in the same room as you. You thought about keeping him in your bedroom, but, again, privacy. So, the living room was the last option.

It didn't take long to gather a few old blankets out of the hall closet and form a makeshift nest in the corner of your living room, near the space heater you had set up when autumn had begun to creep up. Upon further consideration, you fished the water bottle from the previous night out of the trash and filled it up with hot water, burying it under a couple of layers. Hopefully it would last a while and help keep the little guy warm.

Odon had watched you the whole time, and when you put him on the blankets he'd snuffed at them a moment before slowly curling up in a tight coil of blue scales. It was obvious that he was tired, as his eyelids drooped until you moved away to give him peace and they fell closed. Not even a full minute passed before he stilled, his breaths slowing until it was a gradual rhythm. You tiptoed past him into the bathroom and closed the door as quietly behind you as possible.

You let out a sigh and rubbed at your face, already feeling tired again. Maybe a shower would help. Stepping towards the bathtub, you grimaced when you saw the towel Odon had slept on the previous night. The bloodstain had already dried. So much for saving it.

You rolled it up and tossed it on the floor to tend to later, turning the shower head to a steady stream of steaming water and wasting no time in undressing and scrubbing the night's grime away from your skin. Jeez, when had Odon's blood soaked through your shirt? The sheer amount of blood he'd lost - you honestly wondered how he was still alive.

But, you were thankful that he had survived. Maybe having a companion for a little while would help the isolation you frequently felt.

Pinning your hair back after you toweled off the water dripping from your skin, you tossed your dirtied clothes into the hamper and secured the towel around your chest before peeking out the door. You couldn't see him from around the corner, so you hoped the pipes creaking hadn't woken him up.

You made your way back into your bedroom, dressing yourself in an old pair of sweats. The chill within the apartment had gradually crept past your thin pajamas, but the hot shower and warm clothes served their purpose in cozying you up again. You curled up on your bed, tucking the sheets around your feet to unfreeze them before you reached over to your laptop again. You figured, while you would let him sleep off some of the weakness of blood loss, you would do some more research of your own. It never hurt to figure out exactly what kind of a creature your new roommate was.


	4. Concurrency

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, a Hanzo-centric chapter again! :D I think now that everything's kind of smoothed out it'll be easier to go about switching points of view more often. Now the story really begins. |3  
> Also, apologies that I didn't update a second time last week - I caught a bad stomach virus Wednesday and proceeded to vomit six times throughout the day - Thursday through Saturday were spent recovering. I lost three pounds that one day, but I'm pretty sure I'll get it back in no time. The funny thing is that I haven't thrown up since first grade, so I forgot how shitty it makes you feel to be puking nonstop. ;P  
> So, anyway, enjoy! I think updates might be a little slower now since this is my last reserve chapter, but I'll try my best! :D

He had not planned for this to happen.

After the incident with Chikao, Hanzo had reserved himself to his fate. The ancestors would stick with their unjust punishment and he would die a mortal man cursed with being a helpless lizard during the day.

Within the span of a couple of days, he'd gotten a good grasp of how to move around in his restricted form. He learned how to climb up on counters and tables by using his claws and tail to propel himself upward. Walking was no longer a pressing issue, but it still wore him out if he made longer trips than just from his bedroom to the kitchens to eat. The transitions to his human form in the evenings were still very painful, and he quickly learned not to go to bed under any heavy sheets, lest a repeat of the first day threaten to suffocate him in his sleep again. During the nights, he would attempt to attend to his duties around the estate, but he figured out pretty quickly that trying to do everything within only the few hours he could afford would stretch him too thin.

Anger and frustration only simmered and festered within him, and with every passing day it turned into bitterness against the ancestors that, in the back of his mind, he knew was wrong. He was overstepping the boundaries of the respect and honor they deserved. But he just didn't understand why they had done this. He hadn't truly comprehended what Chikao had told him - what answer was he supposed to be expecting? And all the nonsense about him having to 'remember how to love' again. Fah. The old man was delusional.

Three more days passed agonizingly slowly, and the following afternoon while the sun began to ghost against the distant horizon, he'd been struck with a sudden surge of cabin fever. He had to get out - he had to breathe some fresh air, or just get away from his room. He was tired of secluding himself and hiding at every turn. His antsy-ness led him in climbing up into the rafters of one of the outer buildings, squeezing out of a window onto the boundary wall separating the estate from the outside world.

The city was poised in quiet, the hour of workers being released from their occupations drawing nearer with every passing breath. It was, admittedly, a nice view from up there. He could see quite a long ways, and he watched as a few idle people would amble along on the sidewalk across from him into the various shops or restaurants lined up along the street. Some were mothers ushering their children along with joined hands and hushed words, others were college students out of class and chattering amicably as they searched for somewhere to sate their evening hunger. It was...peaceful, in a way, being able to watch and not to be seen.

When the sun had dipped its lower half beneath the horizon pulling darkness like a blanket over the city, Hanzo had decided that he should return to his room in anticipation of the transformation. And besides, if he were to stay up there too long, somebody would notice that his bright blue scales did not exactly blend in with the lighter stone of the wall.

He'd turned to jump back onto the windowsill, but he'd misjudged how far to step back. The next thing he knew, his heart had jumped into his throat as empty air blew by him. Then, hard ground and pain.

Luckily, there hadn't been anybody nearby when he'd fell, so when he cried out in sharp agony nobody besides himself heard it. His entire side stung, but he couldn't move his hind leg at all. He'd barely managed to drag himself under the cover of a decorative tree and coil up in between two of the largest roots. His mind had numbed with pain and adrenaline, and it had taken him a good five minutes to realize that he was bleeding out, but by then he could scarcely move. He'd growled softly, pressing his head into the cool soil beneath him in hopes to distract himself from the pain. This was how he was going to die. On the street, like a wounded animal. How dishonorable.

He didn't know how many hours had passed - he'd faded in and out of consciousness several times - but all he knew was that it was extremely dark when you'd found him. He'd hoped nobody would find him until he'd died, but he'd just surfaced from the dark again when he saw you crossing the street towards him.

Legitimate fear had shot through him, something he hadn't felt in a long time. He'd tried to ward you off, but you seemed as though you were experienced with creatures of his sort, as you knew exactly where to grab him to keep him from biting you. You'd armed him up and murmured soft words to him, and he'd resisted as best as he was able. But, in the end, his body had been too weak to fight you, and he didn't realize he'd gone under again until he heard the jingle of your keys and the _ka-shunk_ of a doorknob being unlocked.

You'd brought him into the confines of your extremely small apartment and had re-locked the door, much to his growing anxiousness, before taking him to your bathroom and putting him in the damned _bathtub_. But, the towel you'd laid out in there had been so soft and warm that he'd almost drifted off just laying on it. He was so _tired_ , and every time you would get near him he would just wish that he had died out beneath that cherry tree. It would've been far more honorable than to be subjected to your degrading attention.

You were gentle with him, however, which for some reason surprised him - you spoke to him in soft tones, and grimaced when he'd started protesting against the sharp sting of the antiseptic wipe you used to clean his wound. The cotton had been soft against the irritated and torn flesh, but it still ached and throbbed enough to not make it much better. When you'd finally let him go again he'd just pressed himself into the towel, staring at you as you washed your hands and left him in the room. You'd returned moments later and, to his further surprise, you'd just set a bowl of fresh water near him before turning out the light and leaving him be.

He'd stayed up after that, waiting for quite a while for you to come back, but after maybe ten minutes he figured you'd gone to bed. It was late, after all - or at least he assumed so.

Resisting your attention had kept his mind focused on that singular task, but once he had nothing to fight against, the anxiety began to tighten low in his stomach and actually kept him from the sleep creeping upon the edges of his consciousness for quite a while. And, eventually, he hadn't been able to resist the water. Once he'd started drinking, he hadn't been able to stop, and it was only when he was lapping at the bottom of the bowl that he realized how thirsty he'd been. He presumed it was caused by his own blood loss.

Grogginess had slowly crawled into his vision, despite his will against it. He didn't trust you, or his surroundings, and he feared that if he went to sleep then he wouldn't wake up again.

Again, despite that, extreme exhaustion won and he fell asleep in the wee hours of the morning.

The next morning had been...interesting, to say in the very least. You obviously hadn't any conception of how to react to him, and your incessant baby-talking left him feeling unnecessarily humiliated, but at least you hadn't been treating him like a freak of nature, like he'd feared. You'd fed him, for which he found himself grateful (and he refused to admit to himself that he'd made those sounds - hunger did things to him, but that had been completely ridiculous).

He'd primarily assumed you were extremely lacking in intelligence, but the more you talked, the more he realized you were just treating him as though he were another person. You'd never talked down to him in any way - maybe you'd noticed his reactions to your words the previous night and presumed that he held some sort of intelligence. That would be nice, not to be assumed to be an incompetent animal.

But the bath was...something else. At first he'd feared that you would drown him, whether it be intentional or not, but once he'd felt the warmth seeping past his scales, he'd allowed you to continue to massage the grime off of him. It felt nice, admittedly, but it lasted perhaps just a tad too long. The water had started to cool by the time you pulled the stopper out of the drain and had began to towel him off.

You ate breakfast fairly quickly, and when you replaced the bandage on his leg it was of better quality. It didn't feel as though it would tear if he were to move too much. Perhaps it was because you were less wary of him.

And it honestly surprised him when you made a small bed for him in the corner of your sitting room next to the space heater you'd had set up. He was certain that you had procured every spare blanket within your home to make it, and had even gone so far as to conceal a hot water bottle beneath the uppermost layer, despite his lack of need for any outside heat sources. Of course, you probably didn't know that. But he found himself grateful for the gesture nonetheless - at least he wouldn't have to sleep in the bathtub.

When you set him down on the soft mass of materials, a sudden wave of weariness had washed over him in a sudden rush. He hadn't slept very many hours, he knew, and his injury must've taken more from him than he'd originally presumed. He'd tried to wait for you to leave, but he doubted he lasted very long before sleep had reclaimed him. He didn't know how long he'd been held under unconsciousness' warm embrace, but when he did wake again the apartment was a bit brighter and you were nowhere in sight. He doubted you'd left, but this breath of air did give him a chance to think to himself.

How was he going to get out of this mess?

Hanzo sighed softly, shifting a bit on top of the mass of warm blankets. It was a much better alternative to other places he thought you would stick him in, but he felt unprotected on the ground and in the largest room of your home. However, it wasn't saying much, inferring the word " _largest_ ". It wasn't nearly was he was used to, cramped and striking a surprising bit of claustrophobia in him. It would fit inside his bathroom. On top of that, your bathroom was the literal size of a postage stamp, and he wondered how you managed to prepare anything in that narrow kitchen.

It was obvious to him that you weren't very wealthy, and he worried if you were going to look into selling him to some sort of exotic animal collector or something of similar caliber, despite your gentle disposition towards him. He was next to defenseless, in this form, and he was wounded on top of that. He wouldn't be able to get away even if he tried. But there had been something in him, upon you finding him, that had told him that you weren't that kind of person. Perhaps it was some sort of inherited sense from this form, but every time you'd looked or spoken to him, he hadn't felt threatened. Tense - even frightened, perhaps, because of his disadvantage and helplessness - but he had always had a good sense of determining people's true intentions, even before this had happened. You had an air about you that told him that you would feel remorse over swatting a fly.

Hanzo rested his chin on the edge of the bed, taking in the sparse adornments scattered along your wall. It wasn't heavily decorated, and what few pictures or paintings there were he didn't recognize. You obviously weren't from here, that was for certain. The pictures framed and sitting on the television stand near him displayed yourself with only a few other people; there were mainly two men that both looked older than you, one notably less so than the other. Perhaps close relatives. Both shared similar features with you, but he wouldn't place any assumptions upon who they might be.

For the most part, you were always smiling, especially in the one where you were wearing a deep blue graduation gown with the younger of the two men propping the golden tassel between his nose and upper lip as you clutched a diploma (written in English, he observed) to your chest. The others were obviously set before that, as you appeared younger in each of them. He even spied one that must've been you as a child, with who must've been the younger man reduced in age with you; you both were clad in brightly colored bathing suits and soaked to the bone, with a clear, shimmering pool in the background. Ice cream was smeared across your faces as you both grinned (lacking a couple of teeth) into the camera.

Hanzo shifted his attention away from the photos. They might be personal, and he knew the necessity for privacy - perhaps more than most, at this point.

Various knick-knacks were scattered about as well, and he recognized a couple of little bobbles from shops that were around here in Hanamura. Others he presumed that you'd brought with you from wherever you'd come from, but it was obvious that all of them held some sort of sentimental value. And while the space was maybe a little sparse, it certainly did not lack a lived-in aura, cozy in the way you'd arranged your meager collection of furniture and decorative pieces. It was nice. Again, not what he was accustomed to, by far, but nice. It suited you.

He glanced towards the darkened hallway, half wondering if you were ever going to emerge again. He assumed your room must be back there, too - he didn't know, as he hadn't really been paying attention to his surroundings. Hunger did things to him that he would care not to admit. And he'd been in such a state of distress the previous night that it was of little surprise that he hadn't been taking in everything around him.

And it was with that vein of thought that he realized - he hadn't transformed last night.

He stilled. Why hadn't he transformed? Was it because he'd injured himself? He still was, admittedly, very weak - he hesitantly doubted if he could handle the stress it would place upon him. Would his leg injury transfer to his human form? Would he even transform back, or would he have to wait until his leg healed?

Well, on second thought...if he were to shift, then it would probably be worse attempting to explain to you why there would be a nude Japanese man standing in the middle of your home. And if his wound remained, he doubted he could make even an effort in escaping without further injuring himself and without alerting you to his presence. And...he would be nude. Running down the street. A renowned Japanese lord, revered for his fortune and prowess, vainly attempting to conceal himself from the public eye whilst trying to get home.

So, no. There were no positive benefits for him shifting back as of now.

Hanzo shifted, turning his head to peer at the bandage still secured around his thigh. The pain lingered, though perhaps not as severely. You'd been tending to it quite skillfully - he wondered if you had experience in the medical field. Perhaps that was what your diploma denoted.

He was struck with a sudden sense of boredom. He wasn't certain where it came from - perhaps because he was suck on top of this mass of blankets, if not just for his own health - but he sighed and curled up, tucking his nose into the soft tuft of fur on the end of his tail. He was still a bit weary and weak, and the more he rested, the sooner he could get away from here and go home.

But, admittedly, this place wouldn't be the worst to stay in that could've been thrust upon him. It would do for now.

At least you were feeding him.


	5. Morning Start

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, time to introduce a new character! :D Asami actually helped out a lot with my writer's block on this chapter (partly due to the longer delay), but it was only until I started writing her that I realized she's a whole lot like D.Va. XD  
> Also, just on a side note: I know Shimada Corp. ain't canon, but, then again, neither is this AU or this fanfic - this is my playground now. Muahaha! ):D Anyway. I figured that if each head of the Shimada clan is so closely familiar with their ancestors, the old folks wouldn't approve of their family becoming a criminal empire. So! I created Shimada Corp. as their method to becoming as wealthy and well-known as they are! They specialize in inventing weaponry, pioneering surgical and medicinal advancements, and genetic analytical studies. Some people speculate that they do genetic experimentation, but it's all hot air blowing around. (As far as anyone knows, of course. ;) )  
> I must apologize for the lengthy delay, as well - just when I thought I'd recovered from that stomach bug, I wound up contracting the flu and spent another week recovering from that - plus, writer's block struck me halfway through the chapter. And, on top of that, my login screen on Fanfiction decided to refresh on me (I use the document manager to write sometimes), so I lost a good portion of this chapter that I had to rewrite (and I still don't think it's as good as the original). But! I thank you all for being as patient and kind as you are, and I thank you for continuing to love and anticipate this story. I hope I can continue to please! :D

Nothing. Not a single thing.

You sighed in frustration, shutting your laptop and laying your head back against your pillow.

Nada. Zilch. Your incessant searches (quite inventive, at times) proved fruitless, as there was not a record to be found even pertaining to genetic splicing or special breeding in lizards or snakes. You'd gotten so frustrated that eventually you'd just typed "real life Japanese lizards in real life living". But not a thing about your new little friend had made itself apparent. There was always the possibility that he had resulted from a secret project or experiment, but you were just out of ideas. There was little more to look into now, and you were ready to just let it be until you could figure something else out.

You set your laptop to the side, sitting up and rubbing at your face. It was ten already and you still hadn't started any of your weekend chores. Granted, the unusual circumstances that had befallen you had prevented any thought to go towards them, but you were already behind on borrowed time. Your weekends were never long enough to do everything you needed to do.

Standing slowly, you stretched your arms far above your head, shaking out the tension and glancing out your window. Cars were buzzing in the street, people meandering along the sidewalk absorbed in their own bubbles of life. It was an admittedly nice day - the sky was a clear cerulean and not a cloud was visible in the broad expanse. It was the kind of day that one would go to the park to eat lunch, or go shopping downtown with a friend.

Hanamura, while considerably larger and far more bustling than your comparably quaint home town, had its own tranquil charm that you had grown to adore in your short time living there. The air was always thrumming with life, excitement and unexplored opportunities waiting around every corner. The people were usually kind and happy, and you had made acquaintances with quite a few that you considered to be good friends. At first, there had been a troublesome language barrier, but with helpful tutoring from online sources and your friends, you were getting along just fine. At least you weren't making a fool of yourself like you had been when you'd first moved. (Your friends still picked on you about your accent, despite your supposed 'excellent progress'.)

It would be a great time to head to the market, you supposed. While the crowd would be daunting, some fresh air would be nice.

You tossed on an old pair of jeans that had been draped over your desk chair, a wrinkled t-shirt and, upon scrutiny of the temperature displayed on the weather tab of your computer's holoscreen, your favorite hoodie. On a whim, you grabbed your scarf on the way past your dresser and tied it around your neck, tucking your nose into the soft material as you eased your bedroom door open and crept out of the hall. Peering around the corner towards your new companion's bed, you held your breath and tried to decipher if you had woken him.

He was still, curled into the blankets as his furry spine rose and fell steadily, displaying no sign of disturbance.

Poor Odon, you thought. He must've been exhausted.

Now the trick was getting to the door without making a noise - you and your klutzy self.

You pulled your purse onto your shoulder and clutched your keys to keep them from jingling as your tiptoed to the door, unlocking it and easing it open before slipping out. You puffed out the breath you hadn't realized you'd been holding when the door clicked shut, making quick work of locking it again and ambling towards the stairwell at the far end of the hallway. You passed one of your neighbors on your way down, whom you greeted with a chirpy, " _Ohayou gozaimasu_!"

The man smiled in return, dipping his head as you passed. Your landlord was sitting at the front desk, typing something into his computer with a furrowed brow and pursed lips. It must've been one of his worse days. You made an effort to smile and wave his way, and he caught sight of you just before you reached the door, the crease between his brows easing as he raised a hand in return.

The wind kissed you in greeting when you pushed the door free, its briskness brushing past your face and attempting to whisk away much of your hair. You breathed in the earthy scent of Japanese maples, tucking your hair behind your ear. Someone brushed by you with a quiet word and you turned your focus to the sidewalk ahead.

The walk to the market wasn't an excruciatingly long one - only about ten minutes to get to the outer reaches where small food carts were already beginning to cook for lunch. The savory smells saturated the air around you and you breathed out slowly, deciding that maybe you could snack a bit before you actually started shopping. It wouldn't hurt to stay out for a little longer than necessary - you were sure that Odon would appreciate it, if he didn't get lonely first. (Of that you had doubts, however. He didn't seem the type to get lonely. He'd probably throw a party while you were gone.)

You glanced towards a cart near you where a little old woman was beginning to strain noodles from the pot, adding and stirring in what looked to be a simple vegetable mixture with a dark sauce. You were about to approach her when you heard a familiar shout of your name coming quickly closer. You scarcely had time to react before thin arms were roped around your neck. You wheezed a bit at the sudden lack of oxygen, sinking back awkwardly under the weight of the newcomer.

"Oh, sorry, Sakura!" The young woman sank back down to the ground, grinning toothily up at you as she bounced on her toes. "I sometimes forget how fragile you Americans are!"

You laughed lightly, rubbing at your throat. "It's all right, Asami. I just wasn't expecting you. What're you up to this early in the morning? You're usually one to sleep late."

You had met Asami the day after you'd arrived in Hanamura - you'd accidentally bumped into her while trying to look for your apartment, and she'd helped you and your shy, native-inept self to get to the right place. You'd been inseparable since, and you still relied heavily upon her (sometimes questionable, admittedly) teaching. You had lucked out when you'd found out that you both shared many classes at the university you'd been transferred to. Many a stunted conversation had followed your first meeting, but she was infinitely patient with you, for which you were eternally grateful.

"Oh, me and my _sobo_ are shopping for scarves," she remarked, glancing back to where an older woman bearing her resemblance was ambling into a small boutique. "She is always worrying about me getting cold. Me and my giant ears!" She twisted her index fingers at the sides of her head and you both chuckled. "So, what are you doing?"

"Grocery shopping." You gestured vaguely to the shops around you. "I picked up a little friend last night that I need to get some fruit for."

The young woman raised a thinly manicured brow, a smirk tightening the corner of her mouth. "Aaahh, I take it that the date with Hideo went _well_ last night?"

Your brows furrowed in confusion. Hideo...? Oh!

"Oh, no, no, no," you laughed nervously, raising your open palms and waving them quickly. "I, uh...the date went okay, but I didn't - we, uh, didn't...it didn't go anywhere."

"Oh." Asami pouted a bit, folding her arms over her jacket-clad chest. "Was it the hair? I told him not to mess with his hair, but he always puts that weird gel in it that makes it look like metal."

"Ah, no, it...wasn't the hair." You chewed your lip briefly, guilt pooling low in your stomach before you sighed. "I just...I'm sorry. I know you're honestly trying to help me find someone, but I don't think it's working. And I know it's me! They're always nice - at least, most of the time...but I just never feel very comfortable with them. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I really think that maybe now isn't the right time for me. I _am_ busy going to classes and stuff, trying to figure out what I'm going to do..."

"Well, you should have told me!" Asami butted in, tugging insistently at your coat sleeve. "I would have stopped giving you their numbers - I mean, half of them came to me, but that's beside the point. If you were uncomfortable at any time, you should have said so!"

A warmth of fondness flushed over you and you smiled at her. "I...thank you, Asami. I didn't want to hurt your feelings, so..."

"Oh, never mind that!" She waved you off. "I am just trying to help you not be as lonely. It is depressing, sometimes, watching you look out the window with those sad doggy eyes during lectures."

You blushed, your namesake making itself known as your skin darkened. "I don't do that!"

The younger woman giggled, looping an arm in yours and tugging you towards the cart you'd been eyeing before she'd arrived. "You _do_ do that!" she chittered. "And you always stay at home by yourself when you can be having fun!"

You smiled apologetically as the elder gave you an amused look, inquiring after your order. You agonized through the words that you knew, but she gave you a kind smile and praised you on your attempts at their mother tongue (Asami helped translate both ends of the conversation, bless her), which made you blush again as you accepted the small bowl of steaming food. Your classmate chattered with the old woman for a bit while she got her portion, and the woman was laughing by the time Asami started dragging you away to a nearby bench next to a decorative fountain. Bright orange koi lipped at the air, sliding against each other as the water sputtered out from the multiple spouts.

You sat down against the arm of one end and Asami curled towards you, tucking her dark hair behind her ear as she set the bowl on her knee. "So, tell me about this 'little friend' that you mentioned," she said, raising an inquisitive brow.

"Oh!" You swallowed the mouthful you'd been studiously chewing. Whatever the dish was, it tasted delicious. "Well, you're going to think it's weird, but it really is. I found this..." You bit at your lip a moment, trying to conjure words to describe Odon. "He's...like a snake-lizard hybrid or something. I mean, he's super long like a snake-" You held your hands apart about sixteen inches to indicate his length. "-but he's got horns and fur going down his back? And he's got these little legs? But that throws me off because they look too small or short for him to walk on them."

Asami pursed her lips in thought, fiddling with the chopsticks dangling from her fingers. "Hmm...that does sound weird. What else does he look like?"

"He's this really vivid blue color, but his horns and fur are a really pale yellow. And he's got these really bright yellow eyes." You paused to take in another mouthful of what must've been a type of stir fry before continuing. "But...Asami, you're going to think I'm crazy, but I think he understands English."

She raised an incredulous brow. "You keep calling it a 'he'."

"That's the thing!" you pressed. "I just kind of talked to him for a while, but when I referred to him as a girl he _bit_ me. On _purpose._ And he _rolled his eyes_ at me when I was trying to figure out a name for him."

"So...you have a potentially poisonous snake...thing - and you picked him up for _what_ reason?"

"I was walking home from the...uh, the date, and I saw him under a tree across the street. When I went over there he hissed at me, and one of his hind legs was badly hurt. Maybe I wasn't thinking it completely through, but I took him home with me to fix him up."

"And you're going to keep him?" she asked, muffled by the food behind her lips.

"Well...I guess? I mean, he didn't have any sort of collar or anything, and no one's showed up looking for him." You twiddling your fingers pensively. "Should I...post something online? Like a found poster?"

"Hm...I don't think so." Asami shrugged lightly. "I mean, if there wasn't any sort of identification on him then he is probably an abandoned stray or something. You hear stories about snakes crawling out of windows and stuff like that."

You nodded lightly, savoring the flavor of another bite of the vegetables. You were half tempted to get Asami to ask the woman for her recipe. Your classmate suddenly squinted at you, turning her head and eyeing your face as your chewing slowed to a stop.

"What?" you asked.

"I am seeing if you are foaming at the mouth," she said dismissively.

"Why would I be foaming at the mouth?!" you exclaimed.

"Well, you said that lizard-thing bit you, didn't you?" she asked. "He could have given you rabies."

You snorted, tilting your head back in incredulity. " _Snakes_ don't have _rabies_!"

Asami rolled her eyes, chewing thoughtfully as she contemplated your word of personal experience. She then swallowed abruptly, her eyes widening as she jabbed her chopsticks at you. "I heard in America they take you out and shoot you if you have it," she remarked.

" _No_!" You couldn't help the laugh that bubbled past your lips. "They treat you with _medicine_ with _syringes_ if you get rabies!"

Asami shuddered, drawing back and grimacing. " _That_ is worse."

"Than being _shot_?"

"I hate needles," she grumbled defensively.

You laughed again, shaking your head as you both went back to your food. It didn't last very long before one of your past thoughts occurred to you.

"You know..." You scratched at your temple, tucking your hair behind your ear. "He looks like one of those Japanese dragons out of your legends and lore. Do you think he could've been bred to look like one?"

Asami thought for a moment before bobbing her head and swallowing. "Maybe. One of these richer families around here could have had that done, if their kids whined enough. It seems like something a rich person would do, just because they could."

"Yeah." You went to scoop up more food with your chopsticks until you found that it was all gone. "Oh. Well, I guess I'd better go ahead and start shopping." You glanced up towards the shop that Asami's grandmother had disappeared into. "I'll let you get back to your _sobo_. I know she's a strong-willed woman."

"Pfft. I bet she has not even reached the back where the scarves are yet," she shrugged, bouncing to her feet and disposing of her bowl in the waste bin next to the bench. "Also, send me a picture of - um..."

"Odon." You tossed the bowl into the wastebin.

"Odon." Asami stretched, starting to amble in the opposite direction. "Send me a picture when you get home. Maybe I will know what he is."

"Maybe." You waved at her; she reciprocated. "Talk to you later!"

She smiled over her shoulder at you, extending a thumbs-up towards you. You grinned and turned, beginning to make your way towards the fruit stands. It wasn't until you were almost around the corner that you heard her voice float after you.

" _You didn't name him after udon noodles, did you?!_ "

Your shaking shoulders must've been enough of an answer because you heard her light laughter after you moved around the corner.


	6. Ring, Ring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All right, apology time. I'm sorry this chapter took so long, but I thank you all for being so patient with me. School's been busy, as we're finishing up the semester soon, so maybe when summer break hits there won't be such long spaces between updates. :)  
> I had trouble with the ending this time, which I found funny. It just kept getting longer and longer so I cut it short. At least I have some to start off the next chapter. ;D  
> [Idea/prompt: (c) luvleeleekaotix-imagines @tumblr]

When next Hanzo woke, the soft white light that had been filtering through the windows had shifted into a warmer yellow, indicative of an uncertain but lengthy amount of time passing. The ache in his muscles eased as he stretched, stifling a yawn before glancing around. The apartment was quiet, almost completely silent. You were nowhere in sight.

Where had you gone? You had obviously left, but where? How had you left without him hearing you? There _was_ the possibility that you could've been simply sleeping, but he found it extremely unlikely. If you'd been so persistent in watching him as you had, you wouldn't have gone far, or for very long.

His stomach began to twist and he began to imagine the worst. Were you going to bring somebody to look at him so you could figure out what he was? Were you going to get rid of him?

Hanzo shifted to prop himself up with his front feet, but the sting in his hind leg made him hiss and sink back down into the plush material. Damn it _all_. He growled in frustration, craning his neck to stare at his bandaged leg. If he would just _heal_ , he could get _out_ of there. He was _helpless_ and he _hated_ it.

The click of the front lock caught his attention and a flash of fear shot through him, thoughts of someone finding him surging to the forefront of his mind, but when the doorknob twisted and you slipped inside he let out a huff.

"Oh, you're awake!" you remarked, a small smile lighting up your face as you struggled under the burden of several sacks of what looked to be groceries. You shouldered the door shut and heaved a sigh, shuffling wearily to the coffee table where you dumped all the bags and sank into the couch, tugging your shoes from your feet. "I hope you had a good nap."

Hanzo sighed quietly - inaudibly for you, apparently, as you didn't respond to it - and tucked his chin into a dip in the blankets, away from your side of the room.

"Aww, did I wake you up, buddy?" you asked, a hint of guilt in your tone. "I'm sorry."

He ignored you and noticed that there was what looked to be a large book just barely shoved under the television stand, previously unseen as it was only visible at this lower angle.

"Are you just going to pout now?"

He huffed out and rolled his eyes before turning his head and curling up.

"Okay, okay, I see. I'll let you be, you grump." He heard the couch creak and the rustling of the sacks before your feet scuffed against the carpet as, he assumed, you ambled to the kitchen. The refrigerator door opened and you started to set things inside, beginning to hum a soft tune beneath your breath. Hanzo glanced up towards the windows, wishing he could see through the gauzy linen curtains. But, then again, he wished for many things. And he certainly wasn't getting them anytime soon.

Suddenly, the desktop computer on the desk tucked into the corner flashed to life, making Hanzo jump; the alert chime increased in volume as a picture of the same older man in some of your photos flickered onto the center. In the kitchen he saw your head whip over your shoulder as you almost dropped a delicate-looking jar. You shoved it onto a shelf inside the refrigerator and shot past him, almost slipping with your sock-clad on the carpet in your haste to slide your finger through the green acceptance button.

A feed of the man popped up on the screen, his brow furrowed as he stared just a hair off from the camera. _"...Can't believe I let him talk me into trying to figure this out myself..."_

"Dad!" you exclaimed happily, and the man's eyes locked onto you before he smiled warmly.

_"Hey, sweetpea,"_ he greeted. _"How are you?"_

Hanzo scrutinized who upon realization was obviously your father. American, just as you were. He was of latter middle age, it seemed - the wrinkles adorning the corners of his mouth and eyes displayed the ghost of smiles both past and present. He hadn't shaved in a while, if the prickly smattering of graying stubble dotting his jawline indicated anything. His salt and pepper hair was unkempt, but at least an attempt appeared to have been made to tame the thick but closely-cut locks.

You had his eyes, he noticed - clear and bright and genuine.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," you said, waving him off as you curled up into your desk chair, tucking your legs under you. "How are you? You missed your call last week and I've been worried! I tried calling you, too, but you wouldn't pick up."

_"I'm sorry, sweetpea,"_ he said, rubbing at his neck as his smile turned apologetic. _"I haven't been able to get out of bed since, ah..."_

Your shoulders dropped and your tone turned suspicious. "...What did you do?"

_"I...kind of fell out of a tree."_

He must've anticipated your reaction, because when your entire body went rigid he spoke again before you could. _"I wasn't climbing the big oak in the back yard again, I swear,"_ he said, raising his hands defensively. _"I was helping Miss MacWiliams get her kitten out of her sycamore tree."_

" _Again_?" you pressed. "How badly are you hurt?"

"It's not as bad as it looked initially," he told you. "I don't think I've ever seen a deeper shade of purple in my life, but it wasn't broken. It's just fractured, and the doctor said I'll be out of the cast in six weeks." He seemed to recall something and chuckled lightly. "I thought the doctor was going to have to sedate your brother when we finally got into the ER. He was practically hysterical."

You snorted out a weak chuckle, but your tone alluded to your exasperation. "Six weeks. I thought we had agreed that you wouldn't rescue that stupid cat again. I thought Miss MacWilliams was having him declawed."

Your father sighed, shaking his head slowly. _"She said she can't afford it now because she gave Erica her most of her social pension for this month."_

You growled lowly, your fingers drumming against the surface of your desk in agitation. "Erica - I swear, she's got it coming for her if I ever get a hold of her."

The man on the screen gave you a disapproving look. _"You can't kill her, honey. It's against the law."_

"Oh, no," you said, "I won't kill her, but I'll _damn_ well give her what for. It's not right, how she treats Betty wrong like that..."

Hanzo tilted his head in surprise.

_"I know, sweatpea, but it can't be helped. You know how that is."_ Your father's expression softened, a look of longing deepening the wrinkles on his face before he concealed it with a smile. _"I've missed you."_

You drooped a bit as a soft sigh escaped you. "I miss you, too, Dad. You don't know how much."

"Mmm..." He grinned. "I kind of have an idea."

You chuckled lightly.

_"Anyway...how're your classes going?"_

Hanzo saw your shoulders relax at the proffered conversational escape. "Well, I ended up getting an A in that modern literature course, luckily. It actually helped me understand their phraseology a lot more."

_"That's good."_ Your father brought a mug up to his lips, sipping at what must've been coffee. _"What about that ancient art class you mentioned before?"_

"I haven't started it yet. It doesn't start for another week because the professor caught the flu, but I've got the textbook...well, I _had_ it, anyway." You shrugged. "I think I dropped it somewhere in my apartment when the lights went out a few days ago. I haven't really looked for it, but I'm sure it's here. I'll find it this today or tomorrow."

Hanzo turned an eye to the book concealed by the television stand's shadow. He sighed softly and looked back to you, lowering his head to rest his chin on the edge of the blankets.

You shifted in your chair, tucking your hair behind your ear and propping up an elbow on the desk. "Anyway...how's Derrick?"

_"He's been helping me out with the chores. Doing most of them, really,"_ your father replied. _"He's been cooking, too."_

Hanzo saw you wince. "How much overcooked mac-n-cheese have you eaten since this has happened?"

The man smiled, weary but no less affectionate. _"More than I'd like, but he's been a big help."_

"Mm-hmm..." You reached over to pick up an errant pencil and to drop it in a cup with its kin, sighing. "I wish I was there to help. I could probably take a break on my classes and fly in."

_"No,"_ your father responded firmly. _"I'm fine. Don't skip out on your classes for me. You've wanted to do this for a long time. I don't want to mess it up."_

There was a beat of silence. You fidgeted.

"I guess you're not coming for Christmas, then," you murmured dejectedly.

_"No - now listen,"_ your father said gently. _"I'll plan a trip as soon as the cast is off, I promise. It won't be that long after Christmas."_ He paused, then sighed, his voice heavy with guilt. _"I'm sorry, sweetpea."_

Hanzo saw the look of disappointment twist your face as you turned your head for a brief moment, then watched as you plastered on a smile that was surprisingly convincing before turning back to the screen.

"That's okay, Dad." You shrugged a shoulder lightly. "We'll plan a good trip for you when you're healed. You probably don't need to fly with a cast anyway."

Your father seemed to notice your abrupt change in mood, but he didn't comment upon it. Instead, his eyes wandered from you and glanced into the depths of your apartment behind you. Hanzo felt a chill settle in his stomach when the man's eyes settled upon him, his brows raising in evident surprise.

_"Say,"_ he remarked, _"did you get a pet? What is that I see behind you?"_

Hanzo cringed as you, too, turned to look at him.

_"Is that a_ snake?" he asked, his tone curious. _"What are you doing with a pet snake?"_

"Oh." You laughed a bit, waving him off. "Odon? No, he's not a snake, Dad, he's..." You trailed off slowly, your brows furrowing as you scrutinized him. "I'm...not sure what he is, actually. All I know is that he's a snake-lizard-wormy hybrid thing with a really bad temper." You shrugged, a nonchalant gesture to match your expression, as you looked back towards your father. "But he's cute."

Affronted by your rather undignified description of him, Hanzo growled under his breath. It must've been loud enough for you to hear, however, because you turned towards him with a defensive look.

" _What_?" you pressed. "At least I didn't say you were slimy."

Your father squinted at him through the screen and Hanzo felt his unease increase in its intensity, roiling in his abdomen. _"Did he just growl at you?"_

You sighed. "He gets pissy about me talking about him like that. Typical man - you have to pamper his enormous ego."

The man eyed him thoughtfully for a long moment. _"...Can you bring him over here?"_

"Sure." You stood and wandered towards him. Hanzo shifted away with a weak, warning hiss, his stomach dropping as anxiety made his heart thump painfully against the inside of his chest. Despite his protest, you carefully armed him up and brought him to the computer.

Your father was no less nonthreatening up close, but Hanzo did not like the way he was looking at him, as though he was trying to remember something. Thoughts started darting through his mind, trying to recall the man's face, if he'd ever had any affiliations with his family - if he recognized just what (and potentially who) Hanzo was, he could realize his worth to some less than morally-right factions in Japan. Defenseless in his current state, Hanzo wouldn't be able to fight back. He had figured you were on the lower side of a typical income, but surely you wouldn't just hand him over for blood money-

_"...Are you sure he's not slimy?"_

Hanzo froze, his increasingly worried thought process screeching to an abrupt halt. Suddenly his anxiety seemed superfluous. Your father was harmless. Offensive, but harmless.

Your father drew back a bit onscreen. _"Wait - did he just roll his eyes at me?"_

Hanzo felt you shrug, your hand reaching up to scratch lightly behind his horns. _Oh_... "He may have some sort of ocular weakness and can't control it," you supposed, "but I'm pretty damned sure he does it on purpose."

Hanzo wanted to snort, but his mind was diluted by your gentle touching. It was...it felt...really good. Like an incessant itch was finally being relieved, except twice better due to there having been no previous discomfort.

_"Is he poisonous?"_ your father ventured, his worry not very subtle. _"He looks poisonous."_

"Nah...he's bitten me enough and I haven't died yet. But if he doesn't quit I'm going to start biting him back."

Hanzo tilted his head into your fingertips, directing them to the underside of his jaw. He breathed in slowly, his eyes glazing over as his eyelids fell halfway.

_"Hmm...he looks familiar,"_ the man mused. _"Why does he look so familiar?"_

"I mean, he kind of looks like the dragons in Japanese lore, so I figured maybe he was bred to look this way or something."

Having held his breath for a long moment, Hanzo suddenly, to his horror, realized what was building up in his throat, but - as they say - it was too little, too late.

Both you and your father froze as a loud chirr floated up between you, and both of you simultaneously looked down at the reptile now melting into a limp heap in your arms. You carefully slipped him onto the surface of your desk and Hanzo, consumed by a hazy stupor, lolled boneless onto his back.

"Um." You stared for an incredulous moment before tentatively scratching him beneath the jaw again. He seemed to sink further into the desk top, as impossible as it should've been. His chirr only rose in volume, his head tipping back as-

_"Is his tail twitching?"_ your father inquired bemusedly.

"Yeah," you responded, equally as puzzled. "This...is new."

Hanzo felt your fingers travel down from his neck to his chest, and when you scratched the dip under his sternum he felt the muscles in his limbs react quite involuntarily. You started laughing in amused delight and suddenly his hypnotized stupor seemed to dissipate.

"Oh my god," you breathed, biting your lip in an attempt to stifle your laughter as you watched him twist weakly in tandem to your movements. His little feet pawed at the air as his entire body wriggled, his chirring turning into prolonged chirps, gradually getting higher pitched.

_"I think you just found his weak spot,"_ your father observed, starting to chuckle. But when he glanced down he frowned. _"Is he hurt?"_

"Oh, yeah," you said, taking a moment to check the bandaging. It was fine. Honestly, it still surprised you how well he tolerated it. "When I found him last night he was bleeding all over the place, hissing up a storm. I didn't want to leave him out in the cold to die, so..." You shrugged. "Here he is."

_"Are you going to keep him?"_

Hanzo stilled with your hand, awareness flooding back into his head.

"What do you mean?"

_"After he gets better,"_ your father elaborated. _"Are you going to keep him or take him to an animal shelter?"_

Hanzo watched as you bit your lip pensively, studying him and absently stroking the smoother scales on his belly. He felt apprehension bubble up in his stomach, but when your expression shifted into a certain sureness he tilted his head in confusion.

"No, I don't think I will," you said, glancing up at your father. "He didn't have a collar or anything, so he probably doesn't have an owner. Besides..." You looked back down to him and smiled, scratching his belly again. A purr pulled itself from his throat. "...I kind of like his company."

Hanzo stilled, staring up at you in further puzzlement, but your attention was turned back to the holoscreen when a distant slam of a door was heard.

_"Well, Derrick's home,"_ your father observed, looking off-screen for a moment. _"I'd better go help him unload the groceries."_ He smiled tenderly at you. _"I'll talk to you, soon, sweetpea."_

"Yeah." You smiled back, shifting to sit up. "And don't worry about Christmas, it's okay. We'll work something out when you're better. And don't strain your foot, all right? If the doctor said to stay off of it, _stay off of it_. Or at least use crutches."

The man chuckled at your stern tone. _"Yes, ma'am."_ His expression turned warm. _"Love you."_

"Love you, too," you returned. "See you later."

No sooner than you said it, you reached up and disengaged the call. A long moment of silence followed, and you rubbed your downtrodden face with a despondent sigh. Your expression had shifted so quickly Hanzo hadn't even seen it.

"Well," you murmured, presumptuously directed more to yourself than him, "I guess this Christmas is just going to be me." But when you looked down to him, your face lit up and a small smile tugged at the corners of your mouth as you tickled at the dips behind his forelegs. "At least I've got you and Asami."

Hanzo rolled back over onto his belly, snorting softly as the entirety of all that had just happened fell upon him. Embarrassment burned hot in his face and he turned away from you, tucking his tail into his side and shifting so that his leg didn't twinge with pain. He felt your fingertips trace down his spine before he heard you stand. You carefully armed him up again and started moving towards the kitchen. "Are you hungry yet or are you still good?"

Hanzo didn't believe in comedic irony. He didn't believe in it, and yet his stomach still gurgled with an absence of food that Hanzo hadn't noticed until then. You laughed, patting his neck gently. "I think I should get you fed. You sound like you're about to wither away."


	7. Early Bird

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my god, finally. I was finally able to figure out how the heck to finish this chapter. I'm so, so sorry that it took so long, lovelies! D: Shoot me, please. It was my fault. (It's freaking one-thirty while I'm posting this. Why do I do this to myself? I need to sleep.) Anyways, I hope the fluff makes up for it?  
> Thank you all for the lovely comments! I appreciate and adore every single one, thank you, thank you, thank you!  
> Just a note: this is actually the longest chapter so far, and it feels like the emptiest one yet. *sweats* Maybe that's just me. I hope y'all enjoy this (belated, belated, belated) update! C: Also, if there are any grammatical errors, please tell me and I'll fix it ASAP!  
> Credit goes to luvleeleekaotix-imagines over at tumblr.

Entering the kitchen, you set him down on the table after pushing a couple of sacks out of the way. You opened the fridge and grabbed the leftover orange from that morning, setting it on a couple of paper towels in front of him before getting back to work on storing your groceries.

Hanzo restrained himself this go round, taking his time and savoring each bite of orange as he got to it. He didn't eat quite as much, either, only ingesting about half of it before he was full. It was either due to him having eaten so much that morning, or that his blood sugar was getting back on track. He had worried, with how weary he'd been, that he'd lost too much to recover, but now that he'd eaten and rested that thought had eased with his discomfort.

By the time he was done, you were finishing up, putting the dry goods away into the pantry and folding the paper sacks up to store them in a cabinet to return to the market. You had started humming again, a melody with which he was unfamiliar, and when you turned to him again you raised a brow.

"That's all?" you asked, as though you expected a legitimate answer. Perhaps you did at this point. You hummed in thought as you once again stored the fourth that was left back in the fridge. "I guess you're still kind of full from this morning."

He grunted ( ~~chirped~~ ) in response, and you wiped at his mouth with the paper towels, much to his protest, before tossing them in the trash.

"At least I don't have to bathe you again," you remarked, picking him up and wandering back into the living room. However, instead of putting him back on his makeshift bed, you opted for placing him on the couch. The cushion dipped beneath him and he stared in surprise as you walked over to grab a messenger bag from one of the hooks beside your door. You dropped it on the coffee table, plopping down on the cushion next to him and sighing softly. Rummaging around in the bag, you pulled out several textbooks and a multi-subject notebook and set them to the side. Hanzo recognized them as common textbooks used in Hanamura's local university, the same he'd used.

"All right, Professor Lin," you muttered, pulling out a composition book and flipping to a page almost in the middle, "let's see what you've got for me." You scrutinized the list of what looked to be assignments and your face lit up a bit. "Oh, praise. Not that much."

Hanzo watched as you pulled out a history textbook and its designated notebook section, opening them both up and studying the page. It only took about five seconds for you to realize that you didn't have a pencil. You muttered under your breath, placing the books on the table and standing before wandering over to your desk to grab one.

After that, time seemed to slip away. You started whatever your assignment was, and the incessant scratching of lead upon paper lulled into white noise as Hanzo adjusted himself atop the couch cushion. It was oddly peaceful, just being able to lay in the quiet with you in the background. He'd been accustomed to solitude for so long, even with his servants, that he'd forgotten how another's presence could be so serene.

It was only when the thunk of your books hitting the table jostled him awake that he realized he had drifted off into a light doze. He blinked away the sleep in his eyes, clawing at his face as you leaned up and stretched your arms far above your head. At some point you had tied your hair up, and it took Hanzo a moment of looking around the darkened room to register that a lot of time must've passed. The sunlight streaming in through the windows was a hazy orange, casting cool shadows across the carpet. The air was still and the world outside was quiet.

You shuffled your books around, stacking them accordingly and slipping them back into your satchel. You mumbled something under your breath, rubbing at your eyes as you paused and took a deep breath. Hanzo watched curiously as you tucked a stray lock of hair behind your ear, your eyes wandering to the windows, then the digital clock that served as your computer's idle screen.

"7:23," you muttered, almost in wonder. You sighed softly, before casting a glance down at him. Your face brightened and you reached down to scratch at the underside of his furry jaw. Hanzo's eyelids fluttered but he gritted his teeth against the pleasant feeling that coiled down his spine.

"I don't know about you, but I'm hungry," you murmured, petting the top of his head lightly before you stood and shuffled towards the kitchen. Hanzo waited until you disappeared through the doorway before turning to eye his injured leg. The bandage was starting to loosen and fray. He experimentally flexed the muscles, then winced sharply. The pain was still there, but it didn't feel as fevered as it had been the previous night. Perhaps the infection was dying out.

Hanzo glanced towards the window again, taking note of the sun's fading light. It usually around this time that he would shift - but, as he waited for several moments, he released the breath he'd been holding when he realized that, again, he was not going to endure the difficult struggle that changing caused.

Hanzo jumped as the clatter of pots and pans rang out from the kitchen, layered with a string of growled curses leaving your mouth as something crashed. He rolled his eyes, huffing softly. It was obvious you weren't very light on your feet, that much was certain - though perhaps your nature made up for it.

He lowered his head to the plush surface of the couch again, breathing out softly. He was comfortable. Maybe resting a little longer wouldn't hurt.

* * *

You don't think spaghetti has ever tasted so good before.

You were so, so very thankful that the local supermarkets had American food sections. You weren't against eating Japanese food, however - definitely not. You had always been willing to try new things - that's how you had wound up in Hanamura in the first place, after all - and you absolutely adored sampling Japanese cuisine. There was so much variety to choose from, you hadn't really known where to start when you'd first moved. Fortunately, again, Asami had just swept you under her wing and had taken you to a ramen restaurant. An  _actual ramen_  restaurant. And it had been the best damn ramen you'd ever had in your life - never again would you get the dozen pack of dried stuff back in the States, you had already been spoiled.

But, as much as you enjoyed Japanese food, you did miss good old American once in a while, so you would spend the extra dollar at a corner store and indulge yourself. This is the first plate of spaghetti you'd had in weeks, and, boy, had you missed it. Even if the noodles did taste a little stale.

You sighed in contentment, taking a long draw of your tea. It'd been a good day. An eventful day, but a good day nonetheless. Though you had many things to consider.

You hadn't really thought bringing Odon home through. It'd been a spur of the moment thing, and now you were stuck trying to figure out what to do with him. You'd never considered having a pet before, especially now that you were living in Hanamura for the indefinite future (at  _least_  until you graduated from college). You knew your landlord would be okay with Odon because he's a reptile (that fact had been included in the sheet of guidelines Asami'd had to translate for you; so long as your pet didn't shed hair everywhere, he was chill about it), so all you had to do was to let him know so he could put it on record.

You'd have to make a run to the pet store to pick up some things. While you may be good to go in the fruit department, you still wanted to pick up a couple guides and a few other things, perhaps a heat lamp. Maybe you could get him a little collar. You grinned at the thought - maybe you could even get a little bell so you'd know where he is. Chuckling to yourself, you shook your head. He wouldn't like that, you already knew.

However, recalling how regal he acted, it made you wonder. You really hoped that Odon didn't belong to some rich or powerful family - you really didn't have enough money to be sued. It was very likely that he had belonged to someone before, given how comfortably he seemed to act around you, initial wariness aside. If you were wounded and unable to defend yourself, you'd be hissing at strangers, too.

You twirled your fork into the last coils of the remaining spaghetti, scooping them up and humming as you savored the last bite. You'd made a whole pot, of course, so you'd be stretching this meal out for a good portion of the coming week. You lamented being full, however, and glanced longingly at the fridge. Maybe something sweet would appease your remaining craving.

You stood, arching your arms high above your head and relishing the feeling of your muscles stretching and releasing the tension that had gathered. You took your dishes over to the sink, making quick work of washing them and setting them on the drying wrack. Your next stop was your small pantry, and opting for a cookie or two (...or three), you wandered back into the living room while munching away. You stopped short when you saw Odon, however - he was curled into a shiny blue coil of scales and soft fur, obviously having fallen asleep again in your absence. Given you'd been dropping literally everything you'd touched in the process of cooking the spaghetti, you were surprised, if not a great deal impressed.

You smiled softly when you spotted his uninjured back paw twitch, his breaths sputtering before evening back out. Recalling your conversation with Asami earlier that day, you pulled out your phone and snapped a picture. With a bit of humor and a mischievous grin, you added a pretty filter and a pale pink flower crown to the little reptile's head.

_'He's a cutie, ain't he?'_  you sent. About five seconds passed before you got your friend's enthusiastic reply.

_'OmG he's SO CUTE! (/∇/✿)'_

You laughed, only picturing her face. She was probably rocking where she was sitting, cooing in Japanese. That's what she did whenever you did something she thought was cute, anyway. The first time she saw you blush, for instance. It's how she deemed you 'Sakura', and she didn't stop yammering in her native tongue for a good five minutes afterwards. You had only been able to catch sparse few words, then, as you had still been quite inept in Japanese linguistics. (You were still pretty sure that you wouldn't be able to decipher the gush of words that would slur together. It amazed you how she kept it all straight in her head - she spoke faster than a lot of people you'd met so far in Hanamura.)

_'You named him Udon, right?'_

You smothered a chuckle, glancing anxiously up at Odon to ensure he was still asleep. He hadn't so much as moved a millimeter, and you decided that it would be best if you went ahead and retired for the evening. Hopefully, he wouldn't fall off the couch during the night and hurt himself further. Surely he was smart enough not to.

_'Odon, Asami-chan. Not Udon. I'm not that cruel lol'_

_'Oh, riight. Because that's SUCH a big difference.'_

Closing your bedroom door behind you, you let your laughter bubble past your lips as you went over to lie back on your bed.

_'I wonder if he's got any siblings for sale,'_  she continued.  _'Can you imagine a pink and white one?'_

You pondered the image for a moment, then grinned. _'It'd be like an aesthetic board brought to life.'_

_'Pfft I wish'_

You curled onto your side, tucking your arm beneath your pillow to prop up your chin as you typed.  _'Have you done your homework?'_

_'Lol no why? I've got all weekend!'_  she responded.  _'You're such a workaholic!'_

_'Keep in mind I have to keep my GPA up or else they'll revoke my scholarship,'_  you reminded her.  _'I don't think you want me moving back to the States any sooner than I have to.'_

_'Nuuu ( ◢д◣)ﾑｩ don't remind me'_

You snorted.  _'Calm down, you big baby. Luckily for you, I've got the brains to make up for the lack of beauty.'_

_'Don't say that!'_  she immediately replied, shooting down your attempt at self-deprecation. _'You've got the whole package!'_ There was a pause, then:  _'Well, except for maybe the shyness. But we can work on that!'_

Chuckling, you shook your head, readjusting your arm under your pillow.  _'Don't get your hopes up, friendo. I'm pretty sure I'm a lost cause at this point.'_

_'Lol nope you've got me for that'_

You sighed affectionately and flipped over onto your back, glancing out your bedroom window. Dusk was starting to tease the sky with its hazy purple.

_'well, I've gotta turn in,'_  Asami sent.  _'gnight, Sakura-chan! 川*'-'*川ﾉ~ ･*｡.:*･ﾟ ｵﾔｽﾐ '_

_'k, goodnight. Don't forget about your homework, girl.'_

_'I won't! Ttyl'_

_'Bye'_

You breathed out slowly, setting your phone facedown on your nightstand as you stretched out upon the expanse of your rumpled sheets and soft mattress. You needed to tend to your nightly ritual, but you'd already gotten comfortable. The woes of life.

Come on, self, you thought, sighing and urging yourself to your feet. Sooner you do this, the sooner you can sleep. At least you got all your stuff done today. Tomorrow, you can chill. And find that textbook.

You crept out of your bedroom, glancing down the hallway to your couch. From this angle, you couldn't see Odon over the arm of the couch, so you did your best to shut the bathroom door behind you as quietly as you could. You made quick work of washing your face and brushing your teeth, before making the close to silent return trip to your bedroom. Sleepiness was already starting to tug at your eyelids by the time you flicked on your bedside lamp, the warm golden light pressing back against the dark shadows that had begun to gather in your room at the growing absence of the sun. You changed into your pajamas, tossing your clothes expertly into the hamper sitting in the corner of your opened closet with enough finesse to have made LeBron James jealous.

You pondered the idea of browsing the internet on your laptop, but you lamented to see the battery was in need of recharging. You plugged it up and resigned yourself to tugging the sheets back and settling in for bed. You listened to the faint hints of nightlife stirring beyond your window on the ground, and the faint thump of music coming from the restaurant down the street lulled you into sleep.

* * *

What the hell was that noise?

You squinted your eyes open, the blurriness making you scrub the sleep out of them agitatedly. You recognized the glow of pale, early morning sunlight washed over the far wall of your room, and glanced at your alarm clock only to grimace at the god-awfully early time. Were your water pipes whistling again?

...No, it wasn't the water pipes. You listened for a moment, wondering what in the world that high-pitched whine could be, when the answer hit you with the force of a brick wall.

_Odon._

You tore the sheets off of your body, leaping from your bed and narrowly avoiding your bedroom door as you whipped it open and galloped down the hall. You burst into the living room, your eyes darting to the couch in recollection of Odon's last location.

He leveled you with an indignant stare, his front paws folded over each other as he raised his snout at you.

"What," you deadpanned, the adrenaline dying just as quickly as it'd gushed into your system, "the shit."

He snorted derisively, flicking his tail before directing a pointed look at his injured leg. You remembered that you hadn't replaced the bandage.

"You little  _shit_ ," you growled, clamping your fingers around the bridge of your nose as you squeezed your tired eyes shut and tried to calm the anxious fluttering that had swept up your heart into a jig. "You  _scared_  me. I thought something  _happened_  to you."

The reptile only tilted his head, eyes decidedly unamused with your reaction.

"Okay," you sighed. "Okay. Let me get the damn first aid kit, you priss."

He chirped in only what you could perceive as a derogatory tone, and you resisted the urge to flip the slightly less-than-sentient creature off. You returned in but a couple of moments, having left the kit in the kitchen the previous day. You sat on the coffee table, setting the plastic box on your satchel and jabbing a finger in the small reptile's face.

"Just for the record," you said, snapping the tabs off the box with your free hand, "this is not how I wanted to start off my Sunday morning."

You wouldn't doubt it at this point, but you could swear that the damned lizard-snake-hybrid-thing actually smirked. Damn  _smirked_. Smug little shit. But it was when you snipped the bandaging off of his leg and saw the crusted blood that you grimaced. It didn't look like it was comfortable. Maybe you shouldn't have been so hard on him.

As you grabbed an antiseptic wipe and began to carefully dab the dried blood away, you sighed and rubbed at his head with your free hand, your thumb smoothing over his horns gently. "Sorry, Odon. I should've done this last night. My fault. At least your wound looks better."

He was silent a long moment, and you caught his eyes for a split second when you tossed the bloodied wipe away and reached for more gauze. It lasted but a split second before snorted and looked away. You heard him make a little grumbling sound, tilting his head away, and you grinned deviously before beginning to scratch him beneath the jaw. The effect was instantaneous.

Odon's long neck slackened and he sank onto the couch cushion, that same rasping purr bubbling out from between his sharp little teeth as his eyes glazed over. You'd have to remember this as a means to calm him down in the future because  _damn_ , it was effective.

"You're the cutest thing I've ever seen," you cooed, moving to rewrap his leg. "You act like an ass, but you're just a little ol' softie."

The daze only lasted as long as you scratched him, however. When you drew away and began clipping the gauze to the necessary size his eyes cleared and he tucked his chin against his neck protectively, letting out a soft growl.

"Oh, hush, you know you like it," you smirked, taping the gauze and tugging lightly at it to make sure it was secure. "It's good to know you have a soft spot."

An unexpected knock at your front door drew your attention to both it and the clock. Who could be at your door  _this_  early in the morning?

You stood, shuffling over and peeking through the peephole.

"Ugh, shit," you grumbled. "Not today."

The knock came again, and you sighed deeply before unlocking the door and cracking it open just a hair.

"Fumio," you greeted, a forced politeness straining your tone as you opened the door just a tad more. "What do you need?"

Your neighbor and classmate fidgeted, his eyes flicking over your form from behind his thick-rimmed glasses. "Giving you my biology notes," he said, brandishing a thin stack of typed papers stapled meticulously together. He pushed them into your hands, and your fingers twitched around them.

"Uh, thanks," you said. "But what for?"

"I notice you have hard times with class," he responded. While still stunted, he was doing better with his English, you had to give him that. "Thought you need help."

You stopped, your brows lowering slightly. "I don't need help," you told him neutrally, "I've been managing just fine."

"Your grade says otherwise," he pointed out, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Of course he would know that. He's the TA.

You forced a polite smile, feeling your mood begin to drop. "Thank you, for your consideration," you said through gritted teeth, "but I can handle myself. Have a good day."

With a note of finality, you dipped your head, shutting the door quietly but pointedly before locking it once more. You waited a long, silent moment, and it was only when you heard his footsteps taper off completely that you relaxed.

"'Your grade says otherwise'," you echoed bitterly, scoffing and shaking your head in agitation. "Sure. Yeah. I'll just use these to ease my way along.  _Fah_."

You tossed the stack of papers carelessly onto your desk, stalking back towards the couch. Odon was staring up at you, his eyes attentive as you rubbed at your face in frustration. You cast a glance down at him, meeting his gleaming yellow eyes for a long moment before your agitation fizzled out. You sighed slowly, glancing at the chronometer.  _Ugh_.

"I'm showering," you muttered, casting a firm stare at the reptile curling up primly on your couch cushion. You jabbed a finger at him. "Don't tear up the couch. Please. I can't afford another one."

He snorted softly, lowering his head and tucking it into his tail. You trudged back to your room, now feeling the tiredness seep back into your eyes and body. Lovely. What a way to start the day. But, the hot water helped to soothe some of the stress already coiling in your shoulders, and dressing yourself in sweats and a soft shirt helped, too. Once you were clean and ready to face the day, you admittedly felt a lot better.

After draping a towel over your shoulders to soak up the water from your damp hair, you strolled back into the living room only to find that Odon was not on the couch. After a brief glance around the room, however, you saw that he was in front of your television stand, poking his head beneath it and making quite the string of frustrated noises as he clawed uselessly with his short front paws. You moved over quietly, crouching down next to him and peering beneath the television stand. To your surprise, you saw a book underneath it. You reached past Odon's head and dragged it out, further humming in surprise as you realized that it was the ancient arts and lore textbook you'd misplaced.

You stared down at Odon, squinting at him as he struggled to pull his head back out from beneath the stand. He let out a frustrated whine and you relented, grabbing him carefully at the base of his neck and his stomach before picking him up. You tucked him against your chest, poking his shoulder lightly. He stared up at you with unwavering yellow eyes.

"I'm honestly starting to get a little scared, you know," you told him, easing yourself to your feet and picking up your textbook, depositing it on the coffee table before meandering towards the kitchen. "I just hope you aren't secretly an alien sent to kill me." You paused, then sighed. "I may have said that already, but whatever."

You fed him the last bit of orange that was left, but when he licked his chops repeatedly, staring up at you as you tried to eat your own toast, you glanced towards the fruit bowl next to you. Relenting, you peeled another orange, separating it into fourths and giving Odon one. He went back to work, smacking and slurping with little abandon. Thankfully you were able to finish your own breakfast before he did, and you stored the rest of the fruit away before grabbing a wet rag and wiping away the juice from his mouth, neck, and chest. He fussed a bit, chirping in indignation, but it was soon over and you were returning to the living room trying to remember what you'd had planned for today.

Coming up with nothing (curse your forgetful self, honestly), you set your new pet down on his bed and decided that maybe a trip to the pet store down the street was in order. In the very least, maybe you could get some information on what the heck to do with a reptile.


	8. Shopping Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if you don't like coffee or macarons - I'm personally a coffee girl, and though I've only ever had one stale strawberry macaron, I feel like they'd be good when they're fresh.
> 
> Also, I won’t waste time with apologies on how late this chapter is. I got into Transformers recently and pretty much all my motivation went into that (and still kinda is) and left a good two thirds of this chapter sitting on the shelf, but I finally got my lazy ass into gear and finished up this chapter for all you lovelies on Thanksgiving break. I hope the little extra length at least makes up for some of the delay.
> 
> Anyway. Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it!

You...didn't know how this managed to happen.

Your brief dilemma of whether to bring your new reptilian companion along with you into town hadn't been as easy as you thought it would've been. You'd initially thought to just leave him home again - he hadn't torn anything up when you'd gone grocery shopping the previous day, and he seemed cat-like in regards to keeping to himself - but as you'd gotten dressed, snug and warm and tucking a scarf under your chin, you'd started to feel that nagging tug of guilt as he'd watched you. He hadn't seemed like he was trying to guilt-trip you - you had worked with dogs that were notorious for their puppy-dog eyes - but, curled up on the blankets with his snout tucked into the fluff at the end of his tail, he'd been the picture of lonely. (At least to you he'd been.)

So, perhaps despite your better judgment, you'd scooped him up and had tucked him around your neck, partially hidden among the folds of your scarf. You doubted he really would've cared either way - he seemed to enjoy the quiet, like when he'd dozed off while you had done your homework, but it made you feel better and dammit, you weren't going to leave the poor baby by himself. Even if that same 'poor baby' was a spoiled little shit that probably now viewed you as his own personal servant. (He was _very_ cat-like, now that you thought about it.)

After securing the lock on your door and tucking your keys into your pocket, you'd tried to adjust the scarf so it would better conceal Odon's vivid blue scales. There was little doubt that you looked silly, trying to adjust your hair so it, too, would sit right, but you were too preoccupied to realize. Odon had squirmed a bit when you'd first looped him around your neck, but he was supported by the scarf in such a way it almost seemed like he was lying in a hammock. The still weight of his presence assured you that he wouldn't slip from your shoulders, and you breathed out a sigh as you descended the stairwell to the main foyer.

Fortunately for you, Mister Takahashi was at his desk, absorbed in his computer screen. Gearing yourself, you reiterated the common greeting in your mind before telling him good morning as cheerfully as you could manage. He looked up, the creases between his brows relaxing as he returned the greeting. You paused to collect your thoughts, carefully telling him that you had gotten yourself a snake as a pet. Your hesitant linguistics aside, he seemed to understand and nodded, telling you that he would put it on your file. He reminded you not to allow it free reign of the place, as there were other times where pet reptiles or spiders had escaped and caused mass hysteria. You laughed lightly, assuring him that you wouldn't let it happen, and you bid him a good day as you departed.

A gust of chilly air rushed up to greet you as you pushed the door open, enveloping you with its brisk embrace and sweeping your hair up to dance. You felt Odon shift within the confines of his makeshift carrier, letting out a soft grumble as he tucked his muzzle between your scarf and shirt. It was still early morning, dusky shadows clinging to the sides of the buildings facing away from the rising sun. You breathed in the crisp air, enjoying the boost of energy it gave you as you began your trek down the sparsely inhabited sidewalk. Other drowsy pedestrians shuffled past you, heading to their own destinations, and you sighed softly at the quiet lull of noise. An occasional vehicle would pass alongside you, but other than that it was a surprisingly sleepy Sunday morning, unusual for Hanamura (at least in the time that you'd been there - was it...five months, now? Six? You couldn't quite remember).

It didn't occur to you that you might've been two hours early until you arrived at the pet shop. Its windows were dark, neon signs dead, and a short tug at the door proved futile, as it didn't budge.

"Well, crap." You sighed, rubbed at your chilled face and numbing nose. With a cursory glance at your watch, you winced. "You really woke me up early, man. You've got my whole day off."

You couldn't be sure due to the fabric muffling any possible noises that he could've made, but you thought you heard Odon snort through the folds of your scarf. He shifted, and then his head was poking up next to your ear to stare somewhat disapprovingly at the door before you. He grumbled again, and you felt his tail twitch somewhere behind your shoulder before he retreated back into the warm shelter of your scarf.

"Okay, whatever," you mumbled, turning away from the pet shop and glancing up and down the street. "You can complain all you want to, but I'm not exactly a member of whatever rich-ass family your pampered, prissy self came from. So you're just going to have to deal with my poorness, okay?"

He snorted softly.

"Okay. Glad we could reach an agreement." You tucked an errant strand of hair behind your ear, which you immediately regretted as a chilled breeze swept by you. You shivered. "What I wouldn't give for a cup of coffee right now."

Your mind's eye turned to the cafe that Asami had introduced you to among the first few days of your arrival: a little hole-in-the-wall nook, tucked snugly in between a tech shop and a bookstore. Quaint with its hybrid rustic and modern appeal, it was all about pastels and ' _aesthetic_ '. But, as much as you liked to poke fun at it, it honestly was a good place to go, and you absolutely loved their mirror-glazed confections.

And, at the thought of the aforementioned confections, your stomach chose that convenient moment to twist uncomfortably and let out an irritable growl.

"Well, we've got two hours to kill anyway," you muttered, more to yourself than the reptile draped over your shoulders. "It wouldn't hurt to drop by."

One thing it would hurt would be your weight scale, but you weren't about to let that stop you. Girding yourself against the wind, you started your valiant march around the corner of the block. Two streets over was where the cafe resided, and you were able to cross both times without interference. You could spot a couple of patrons entering and exiting and inhabiting the window seats as you approached its cheerfully lit exterior. The neon sign of pale pink stars and a crescent moon blinked against the dim, and you pushed your way in with a sigh of relief.

Warmth washed over you, as did the delectable scents of old lady Koharu's delightful pastries. She smiled at you from behind the counter, handing another customer a rather sizable bag of cupcakes. He thanked her, bowed, and walked away, allowing you to approach. She greeted you warmly, asking if you would take your usual. Mouth watering at the very thought of it, you agreed with a beaming grin. You asked her how she'd been, and she assured you that she had been faring well, despite the cold weather. She'd found a new ointment that helped with her arthritis, apparently. With lighthearted conversation easing the wait, you soon had your usual cup of joe and a small sack in your grasp. You paid her, and she bid you good day before turning her attention to the next patron.

Deciding that it would be better to linger within the heated confines of her cafe, you meandered over to the same small table that you always occupied while you were there. It was tucked in the far corner, away from the bustle of the front of the room and nearer the windows. You could enjoy the quiet morning and still be part of the mutual relaxation. You settled back into the chair, placing your purse on the table and taking a tentative sip of your bean-brewed beverage. Perfect, as always - perfect temperature, perfect flavor. You envied Miss Koharu's deft hands in regards to the kitchen.

Licking your lips, you dug into the paper sack and drew out your confection of choice. You admired the dark, glossy texture (a new glaze inspired by galaxies, she'd told you), almost lamenting that you were about to devour it, but devour it you did. It was gone within moments, and you hummed in contentment as its flavor lingered on your tongue. You took your time with the second, reveling in it, but it was only when Odon shifted within the scarf that you remembered he was even there.

"Whoops," you muttered, debating on whether or not hybrid lizard-snake things should have sugar. "Sorry, man. Forgot you were there." Tentatively, you tore off a tiny bit of the sweet, brandishing it to him. "Want a piece?"

His head poked out of the folds of your scarf, and you adjusted your hair so no one would see him. He eyed it warily, glancing up at you almost suspiciously, before reaching out and nibbling at it. His eyes seemed to light up in surprise before he took the rest of the large crumb and disappeared back into the folds of your scarf. (Good god, he really was an alien or something, wasn't he? No way he was just an animal.)

You smothered your laughter, deciding that you'd save the third macaron for later. Maybe a little more wouldn't hurt him.

You bit into the last of the second, saving another sizable crumb for him (which he readily took), before tucking the sack into your purse and going back to your warm coffee. It was soon gone, and you folded the coffee sleeve up, slipping it into your purse as well (it had a cute depiction of a kitten, this time) before standing and tossing the cup away in the bin near the door. You waved at Miss Koharu in departure before slipping back out into the cold. A quick glance at your watch told you that only a good twenty-five minutes had dragged by.

You looked at the bookstore next door, nibbling at your lip. Maybe they had updated their English section...

* * *

Hanzo couldn't believe this. He huffed for what seemed to be the twenty-third time, shifting restlessly within the confines of your scarf. It was a wonder that he hadn't smothered yet.

Whatever had possessed you to take him along with you out into the frigid cold morning had him certainly wishing it would banish itself away to the other side of the earth and infect someone who was not his ( _ugh_ ) temporary caretaker. He was just glad that your scarf was warm. And soft. And...rather comfortable, if he were to be entirely honest.

But the fact that you'd neglected to feed him further was beginning to wear on him - his breakfast and the meager two bites of whatever sweet you'd given him was effectively gone, and his stomach was clenching painfully around nothing. And he wouldn't have minded you going into the bookstore - one he recognized but had never entered before (which applied to that cafe, as well - though he recalled that his father sometimes went for a moment of quiet), if it hadn't been for you spending _far too much time_ browsing the books. Despite its remarkably minuscule selection, the one wall of books, all printed in your evident mother tongue of English, seemed to have you enthralled.

Hanzo cast another exasperated glance towards the clock mounted on the wall between this shelf and the next. _By the ancestors_ , it'd been _thirty damned minutes_.

He was going to die, but at least he'd die in your scarf. That'd be his last token of spite directed at you for letting him go hungry. (So much for him finding your textbook for you.)

Hanzo shifted restlessly as you reached out to pull a novel free from its brethren, flipping it over and reading the synopsis on the back. You hummed thoughtfully, turning it back over and scrutinizing the cover. You grimaced when you saw the price, but you tucked it under your arm nonetheless and gave the shelf one last once-over. Hanzo breathed out a sigh of relief when you finally, _finally_ turned around and started meandering your way to the front of the store. You turned into the main aisle, greeting the clerk - a young man not much older than you, it seemed - and handing him the book. A small turn-table rack sitting on the counter caught your eye and you curiously touched the carefully beaded bracelets, admiring their vivid and diverse color schemes.

" _My little sister made those_ ," the clerk told you as he tucked the book into a sack. You handed him your credit chip and he swiped it through the register before giving it back to you. He pressed a button on the corner of the machine to send the receipt to your chip account. " _You can pick one out with your purchase_."

" _Oh, how sweet_ ," you breathed with a tender smile. You eyed the selection for a moment before plucking a white and pale pink one from the rack. He held the sack open so you could drop it inside. " _Thank you_."

He dipped his head at you with a grin. " _No problem. Have a wonderful day_."

Returning the gesture, you smiled at him. " _You, too._ "

Hanzo snorted softly as you turned, walking towards and pushing the door open. A gust of cold wind swept up to meet you both and his gritted his teeth, shifting within the folds of your scarf in search for warmth. You raised a hand, seemingly to steady him, but he settled back down quickly. He heard your stomach gurgle, even over the wind, and smirked inwardly in satisfaction as you pressed a palm to it with a frown. "That didn't last long," you lamented. You glanced at your phone for the time, sighed, and turned down the street further away from the pet store and others you'd visited. You were headed to the market square.

Despite the early hour and the morning chill, patrons were already setting up their stands and carts with their varying goods and trinkets. Scents of cooking foods assaulted Hanzo's nostrils and he breathed them in, simultaneously grateful and regretful. Never before had he had such an intuitive sense of smell, but neither had he had to deal with its repercussions.

Like smelling the scent of your soap and shampoo lingering on your skin and in your hair. It was _distracting_.

You wandered through the stands for a while, taking your time, and Hanzo found himself growing increasingly impatient. He stared out from the depths of your scarf and hair, watching as you strolled by heated slabs of grilled fish and kobachi and white rice and mourning each and every one as they were turned to your blind eye. Finally, _finally_ , you stopped at a small cart manned by an elderly woman who smiled up at you as you approached.

" _Good morning_ ," she greeted warmly.

You grinned in return. " _Good morning. How are you_?"

" _Well. You_?"

" _Fantastic. What do you have in store today_?"

She nodded towards the pots of stewing miso and steaming rice, informing you of both.

" _That sounds amazing_ ," you breathed. " _How much_?"

She informed you of the price, and Hanzo was painfully aware of the reduced price she was giving you. Did you not realize? Or were you that oblivious?

The woman began to dole out the soup into a small bowl, glancing up at you as she did so. " _Thank you again for the mittens you gifted me_ ," she said, pressing a lid down on the bowl before moving over to the rice. She wriggled her fingers within such a glove, red and soft-looking. " _They help these old joints not ache quite as badly_."

Hanzo glanced up at your face just in time to see it darken with a blush heavier than what the cold had already drawn out. " _Oh - it was nothing, Missus Aiko. You're welcome_." You smiled kindly at her, accepting the both bowls and the accompanying utensils. " _You deserve it, spoiling the city with your luxurious meals_."

She snorted with a good-natured laugh, waving you off and tittering something about bundling up and staying warm today. You beamed at her, handing her your credit chip to pay before bidding her a good day, turning and ambling towards the fountain adorning the center of the small plaza. There were multiple benches scattered about, but you chose the one nearest the fountain and settled down with your sack and purse beside you.

"You like _niboshi_?" you murmured to him, and he immediately perked up at the sound of food. _Finally_.

You popped the lid off of the bowl, fishing out one of the tiny slivers of meat and holding it up to where he could reach it. He snatched it up as soon as it was close enough, gnawing at it and relishing the flavor that burst over his tongue. A purr bubbled up in his throat (quite involuntarily, he must add), but despite how he fought against it, it still left him in a loud rumble near your ear. He heard you laugh softly, and you scratched at his head fleetingly before sipping at the soup.

This continued until there was nothing left in your dish, and Hanzo felt admittedly better now that he had warm food in his stomach. You glanced at your watch and Hanzo cast a cursory glance at its glass face. Only another twenty minutes had passed.

"Well," you said under your breath, "I guess I could try. Maybe they'll be there early opening up."

You gathered the plastic dishware and deposited it in the trashcan, readjusting your coat and scarf against the brisk breeze that began to pick up. He felt you shiver, your breath puffing out in a white vapor as you meandered your way out of the marketplace. The streets were a tad more alive, more people milling about and drifting from door to door. You navigated the sidewalk with ease, murmuring an occasional 'excuse me' when necessary, and soon you arrived at your destination. A young man with shaggy raven hair was flipping on the neon sign on the inside of the building when you walked up.

“Thank,” you breathed, “God.”

You pushed open the door and slipped inside, greeting the clerk and asking him where the reptilian supplies were kept. He seemed bemused by your arrival at such an early hour but pointed to the back of the store nonetheless. Thanking him, you started meandering through the aisles.

Hanzo tensed up at the dim, flickering lights and the tall shelves boxing him in. He hated being closed in like this, though he’d always adamantly refused accusations of being claustrophobic. Genji had teased him about being forced to hide in a closet after having been dragged into his younger brother’s prank on a visiting cousin (she was an ass, honestly, but their father had given them a proper dressing down afterwards for not showing respect to their older relative).

Hanzo blinked, feeling a sober and somber air press down on him, stealing his breath. He shook his head and forced the image of his brother’s glinting eyes and smarmy smirk away.

You turned onto the last aisle, illuminated eerily by red head lamps in several glass display cases. As you ambled by them towards the actual supplies, the hair along Hanzo’s spine bristled as he saw snakes and lizards alike within each habitat, staring him down with cold, menacing eyes. An inexplicable sense of apprehension bubbled up in his stomach and he subconsciously gripped your scarf with his claws.

He didn’t realize he was growling until you looked down at him, brows furrowed with concern. “Odon?” you whispered, though didn’t stop walking. You passed by the largest tank and Hanzo felt his blood run cold (if it wasn’t already).

The largest frilled-neck lizard he had ever seen in his life (or maybe it just seemed blown out of proportion due to the fact that Hanzo was less than the size of a human’s forearm - that new perspective would force a sense of fear on anybody - but _honestly_ , the creature was _at_ _least_ twice bigger than he was!) spotted him immediately, raising up on its hackles and hissing at him, its renowned frills puffing out to full extension as it leaned back in what Hanzo’s newfound, baser instincts interpreted as a prelude to an attack.

So, Hanzo did the only thing a sensible tiny noodle dragon would do.

An unholy (and wholly undignified) shriek tore out of his throat as he backpedaled around your neck, grappling for purchase as you yelped in surprise and ducked down to catch him. You barely managed to pin him against your ribs with your forearm before he fell to the floor and there he dangled, heart hammering in his chest and entire body trembling with the wake of adrenaline and animalistic terror coursing through him. He let out a series of nervous chirps and trills, trying in vain to get himself as far away from the glass cages as possible.

“Easy, baby,” you murmured, catching his attention. Your gentle hands scooped him up and cradled him against your chest, turning and quickly moving away from the reptiles. You stroked the fur at the back of his head, lowering your face closer to him to whisper soothingly. “You’re okay. I’m sorry you got scared, I didn’t know that would happen. I won’t let it happen again.”

Hanzo pressed his face into your thumb, squeezing his eyes shut and trying to focus on his breathing. He vaguely heard the clerk call to you, a question - you answered that one of the lizards had startled you. You lowered your voice after the clerk responded and continued to murmur to him, all the while looking at the wall of habitats and supplies and packaged food. When he stopped trembling and his heart stopped trying to escape his ribcage, he curled up tighter against you, wanting nothing more than to leave.

“You okay?” you asked softly, looking down and meeting his eyes. Hanzo was taken aback by the concern in your tone and expression, and for half a moment he thought you honestly expected a verbal answer. He realized then that you had rather lovely eyes.

Not that he cared, of course. Why would he?

You eyed him for a second longer, then seemed to decide for yourself that he was all right. You smiled and scratched lightly behind his horns before turning your attention back to the wall. Hanzo released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“Let’s see…” You pursed your lips, puffing quietly as you studied the wall. “Tank’s a no-go, I think. You seem to do pretty fine without it. I just hope you won’t get into stuff after you get better…” You reached out and plucked a pamphlet from a wire rack sitting near a row of guidebooks and flipped through it. “We’re good on food…what about a lamp?”

You hummed as you crouched and scrutinized the assortment of different kinds of heat lamps, varying in size and price and design. You paused at a simple one that could’ve passed for a desk lamp had it not had a red bulb in the picture. The price was terribly cheap, but Hanzo saw you grimace and nibble at your lip. “That’ll take a paycheck,” you mumbled, seeming to add up the numbers in your head. “I could pass on lunch at the cafeteria this week…”

Hanzo stilled, staring up at you with incredulousness and dawning horror at the thought of you having to skip a meal for five days straight before remembering that you were most definitely not as well off as he in regards to money. You were spending a week’s worth of lunches on him for a _heat lamp?_

What he wouldn’t have given to be able to speak right then, tell you that you were being ridiculous. But when you glanced between the lamp and him, he didn’t miss how your eyes lit up in accomplishment as you carefully began to thread him through your scarf again.

“I bet you’ll like being all nice and warm, huh?” you asked, smiling. You picked up the box, oblivious to his derisive snort. You made it a point to go around the end of the aisle and up the next, however, which surprised him.

Why were you being so considerate towards him? What had he done to deserve you doing this - _any_ of this - for his wellbeing? Nothing. He hadn’t even seen you before the night he fell. He didn’t see true generosity from people in his line of work and mutual parties. There was always a ploy or a setup for a deal when one had ever been overtly nice to him. But there wasn’t any conceivable thing you could want from him - you didn’t know he was actually a man (actually a very rich, very powerful man). You didn’t know that he could probably buy everything you owned thrice over or more. What kind of a heart you must’ve had to be so selfless and giving.

 _Humbleness_ , something in the back of his mind supplied, and Hanzo pondered the word as you stepped up to the counter and paid for the lamp. Yes, you were very humble, he supposed. Very compassionate, and kind, and gentle. You had a bit of an odd sense of humor, sure, and he would have to remember in the future not to wake you too early, but…he was saddened to realize that you were the most genuine person he’d met in a very, very long time. Only Genji had ever been as true to him.

Hanzo wondered if he’d ever be able to repay you for it.


	9. (Unwanted) Company

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello I am back several months late with an update but hoooo boy that Scion skin from a while back...still has me revving...(that will appear later on, rest assured). I swear I haven’t abandoned this, I just haven’t had a lot of motivation to write for Overwatch lately (or much at all, really), but I’m trying! I apologize for the lackluster chapter, but this is all I could manage.  
> And in regards to how this AU differs from the Overwatch canon, I will simply restate my answer to a similar question I received a while back. (I figured I needed to establish this at some point or another.) As far as the historical and technological aspects are concerned, it is Overwatch-canon. Overwatch and Blackwatch exist, and the Omnic-human tensions are still very much present. This story takes place about two years after Hanzo 'killed' Genji. Instead of the Shimada clan being a yakuza faction, they founded a corporation dealing in multiple areas; this is thus the origin of their fortune. The elders still corrupted Hanzo, however, and convinced him to kill Genji so there wouldn’t be any competition for the family fortune, but Hanzo, in his guilt and realizing what they’d done, did away with them and shifted the family hierarchy/business. In a way, he’s already bettered himself by fixing the family and the company’s structure, but in regards to his emotional and mental wellbeing, he’s still lacking.  
> But that’s what you’re here for, isn’t it? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Hanzo jerked awake, gasping sharply as he realized he couldn’t actually breathe. The memory of first waking up as the demeaned version of a Shimada dragon struck him as he managed to claw away the cloth smothering him. He sucked in a breath of crisp, chilly air, dazed and confused. He blinked rapidly, trying to regain his bearings. Soft locks of hair tickled his head and nose and his vision finally cleared to reveal your hair obscuring his view.

Oh. Right. You’d left the petstore and...he must’ve fallen asleep.

He inwardly scoffed at himself, shaking off the haunted memories still flitting across the forefront of his mind. He was getting lazy.

Hanzo shifted for purchase on your shoulder, managing to poke his head through the curtain of hair, squinting as he tried not to get it in his eyes. You were meandering down the hall to your apartment door. Hanzo chuffed softly and dropped his chin on your shoulder, trying to ward away the residual images and sensations thrumming in the back of his mind.

“Sorry if I woke you,” you murmured, snagging his attention. You pulled out a loop of keys from your purse and rifled through them quickly, unlocking your door and slipping inside. You placed the bags you’d accumulated throughout your short excursion on the coffee table, and Hanzo stiffened as you reached up to untie your scarf. You carefully grasped his long body and wove him out of the soft mass, and he almost lamented the loss of warmth it had provided. You were quick to set him down on his makeshift bed, however, and beamed down at him as he settled. His long back had begun to ache from propping himself up on your shoulder, and his fall in the petstore hadn’t made it any better. He cursed his newfound fragility.

You glanced at the chronometer as you toed off your shoes and tossed them in the general direction of the door, pursing your lips at the time, then puffed out a breath and wandered into the kitchen, muttering something about heating up leftovers. Hanzo huffed and curled into the soft mass beneath him, sleepiness still tugging at the edges of his consciousness. Despite this, he listened intently to what you were doing, the clatter of tupperware keeping him sharp and aware.

He heard the stove click on, then the clunk of a pan hitting the metal burner. You were murmuring to yourself, seeming to be completely absorbed in your thoughts. You emerged from the kitchen again with a boxcutter and sat on the floor in front of the coffee table, unwrapping the bag from the box containing the heat lamp you’d purchased. You made quick work of the tape keeping it shut, prying it open and pulling out the lamp before squinting at the instructions listed on the box. It was all in Japanese, and he watched as you mouthed the words and strung the sentences together with the disjointedness and mispronunciation only a foreigner could manage.

“...Thank God it’s already assembled,” you said finally, sighing and rubbing at your face before tugging the plasting wrapping from the lamp. You carefully screwed the bulb inside, glancing over its body before crawling over to where Hanzo’s bed was and plugging it in. It flashed on and you beamed victoriously, setting it beside the mass of blankets and angling the soft red rays at him. “There!” you said, clearly proud of yourself. Your eyes sparkled as you looked at him, settling your hands on your hips. “I bet this’ll help a lot at night keeping you warm.”

Hanzo gritted his teeth, trying not to look directly at the bright smile on your face, but thankfully the scent of burnt food distracted the both of you. You cussed and shot to your feet, sprinting into the kitchen and saving whatever it was you’d been heating before it was ruined.

He...he didn’t understand. He didn’t understand _you_ , at all, and it was beginning to bother him. The look on your face hadn’t been _un_ attractive - on the contrary, it’d made you look that much more pleasing - but…

...it was like looking at the sun, he realized as you stepped back into his line of sight, opening and peering into the fridge before drawing out a can of soda. You turned enough so he could see the warmth of your expression, the contentment he couldn’t make sense of. One couldn’t look too long before their eyes gave up trying to take it all in, trying to comprehend its light, before it began to burn.

He bit his tongue and curled up, tucking his face beneath the tuft of fur on the end of his tail.

* * *

“ _Sakura!_ ”

Hanzo jumped awake, blinking rapidly as sleep was yanked from him in time with the door slamming shut. His tail whipped to and fro in agitation, the fur along his spine standing on end. His head whirled towards the door as fear thrummed through him, and whenever a girl not much younger than you marched in with a gleam in her eyes he clutched at the blankets with his claws anxiously. She did not even take notice of him, however, and you stepped out of the kitchen, wide-eyed and clearly frazzled - but upon seeing her, you relaxed.

“Asami,” you scolded as she laughed and hugged you tightly enough to make you wheeze. “You know my landlord won’t be happy if you put a hole in my wall.”

She waved you off with a toothy grin, dropping her rather hefty bag onto the couch. “Ah, it’s all right. I have a cousin who does house repairs.”

You huffed and rolled your eyes, but Hanzo didn’t miss the quirk of a smile at the corner of your mouth.

“So which assignment do you need help with?” you asked, moving back into the kitchen. The other girl - Asami, or so you had called her - followed closely behind, making herself quite at home sitting at your table.

“Oh, I figured it out just before I left,” she laughed, half apologetically. “But we already decided on this so I came anyway.”

“That’s fine,” you said, sounding a bit relieved. “Math isn’t really my strong suit, so I wouldn’t have been much help anyway. You’d be better off asking Fumio for help.”

Asami hummed and dipped her head in thanks when you handed her a bottle of soda. “You don’t have to remind me,” she chuckled, then stuck out her tongue in disgust. “And I’d rather fail the class than ask Fumio for help.”

You scoffed. “Do you know what he did this morning? He turned up at my door and tried to give me his biology notes because my grade went down a little.”

Asami harrumphed emphatically. “ _Tch!_ He doesn’t know how to take a hint, does he?”

“No,” you groused, disappearing for a few moments before reappearing and setting down a plate of food in front of Asami. It smelled...it smelled delicious, honestly. “He’s been hitting on me for two months now, Asami. _Two months._ ”

Hanzo’s stomach grumbled.

“I know,” the other girl said sympathetically, reaching out and patting your arm as you brought your own plate of food to the table and sat down. “I’ve tried telling him you’re not interested but he thinks he’s entitled to everything he wants just because he’s smarter than everyone else.”

You rolled your eyes. “Don’t I know it. If I ever end up punching him, please bail me out of jail. Or however your justice system works over here.”

Asami tittered a laugh, shaking her head as you both began to eat. Your conversation began to drift from topic to topic, laced with insides jokes and laughter and rather bewildering expressions.

Hanzo tried to suppress the hunger building in his stomach, still extremely wary of the easily excitable stranger in your kitchen. He would’ve rather avoided her at all costs, not knowing how she would react to seeing him, but it was getting to be a bit difficult to ignore.

Ultimately, he lasted about five minutes.

 _If ever I get the chance_ , he growled as he crept from his bed along the wall towards the entrance to the kitchen, _I will burn the ancestors’ shrine to the ground and dump the ashes in the street._

He flinched when Asami began to kick her heels under her chair, yammering on about a movie she’d, apparently, seen the night before that she thought you would enjoy. The fur along his spine bristled and he edged around her chair towards yours, gingerly testing his weight in his wounded leg. It was better than it had been, but he knew it would still be a while before he could walk without hindrance.

The thought occurred to him that he might would be able to get away from you once he did heal, but he dismissed it quickly when he finally reached you so he could focus. He paused at your feet, peering up and trying to catch your eye. You were focused on the other girl, unfortunately, and Hanzo didn’t want to make any noises that would draw any unnecessary attention to himself.

He considered his options. Then he felt a grin tug at the edges of his mouth.

“So you’re saying it’s a Studio Ghibli tribute?” you were asking around a mouthful of food, one arm bracing yourself on the table and the other still hanging suspended in midair. You swallowed and nodded with an interested look. “Hmm...okay. I guess I’ll have to try it out. Sounds interes-OW!”

Hanzo quickly sidestepped as your foot jerked, your hand reaching down to rub at the reddening indentions on your ankle. You looked down to see your attacker and when you focused on him, a scowl creased the corners of your mouth as your eyes narrowed.

“You little _shit_ ,” you started, but Hanzo jumped when Asami suddenly shifted and ducked her head beneath the edge of the table. She stared at him with comically round eyes, her mouth dropping open in wonder.

“ _Ara ma-a!_ ” she whispered, and Hanzo edged closer to you despite the incentive he’d just given you to be irritated with him.

You seemed to let it go when he pressed up against your unbitten ankle, though, and you let out a soft sigh and reached down to scoop him up into your arms. He blinked and clutched at your sleeve with his claws, trying to keep his balance as you raised him above the table. He looked at the food practically proffered on the plate before him and swallowed when his mouth watered, only temporarily distracted from the girl across from you. He didn’t particularly _want_ to eat from your plate, but if it was the only chance he had at getting actual meat for once, then _by God_...

“Hel- _lo_ , Odon!” she crooned, an absolutely enraptured smile lighting up her face. She leaned over the table, moving to stroke his head with her fingertips, but before Hanzo could bite her (mostly out of panic, loathe as he would be to admit it - the only reason she would know your given name for him would be if you’d told her about him, and that was unsettling on its own as it was) you batted her hand away gently.

“I wouldn’t do that,” you warned, brows creased apologetically. “He’s...not exactly the friendliest with strangers. _Or_ people he actually knows, for that matter,” you added, giving him a look. “He’s kind of a prick.”

Hanzo chuffed, looking away. His eyes fell on the remnants of spaghetti left on your plate, and his mouth watered again. If you’d only drop your arms a little farther...

“Oh, don’t say that,” Asami admonished, unperturbed by being turned away. “I’m sure he’s a sweetheart when he wants to be. I mean, look at him! He’s _adorable!_ ”

Hanzo growled softly, levelling her with a stony stare that had been known to make any attendant or servant flee the premises even from his youth (only Genji had never been intimidated by it), but she was focused on you as you responded instead.

“Maybe,” you laughed quietly, and studied him, then your plate. “He’s...certainly got his own personality.” You pursed your lips, looking up to the other girl. “You think he can have meat?”

“I’ll bet,” Asami grinned. “What do you normally feed him?”

“Oranges, so far, but...most lizards are omnivores, and it’s cooked, anyway, so it shouldn’t hurt him, right?”

“I wouldn’t think so,” Asami supposed, and Hanzo felt relief wash over him as you plucked up a small hunk of meat and offered it to him. He snatched it without prompt, revelling in the flavor that burst over his tongue as his teeth sank into it. “I’m just glad you’re not all by your lonesome anymore. It’s so sad - you’re a like a puppy, moping around here all the time.”

You scoffed, but when Hanzo glanced up he saw your cheeks color in what he could only assume was embarrassment. “Come on, it’s not exactly...I don’t _mope_ ,” you insisted.

“Mm-hmm. And what do you do here that’s so much more important than going out and living a little?” Asami pressed.

You offered Hanzo another piece of meat. He accepted it. “Well...I usually try to keep the place clean, and I have to cook most of the time because I don’t exactly have a lot of money to spend, if I don’t want to lose the place…” You pursed your lips, looking every bit like you were trying to come up with a good excuse. “I, uh...I try to finish all my homework whenever I can, so it doesn’t stack up on me, and translating it is a bitch, let me tell you. Don’t think I’ll ever get fluent...”

“Not with _that_ attitude!” Asami interrupted.

“I’m _American_ ,” you retorted, “how good at fitting in to a new country do you think I’m capable of?”

The other girl hesitated, and the sympathy that seeped into her dark eyes distracted Hanzo from his meal.

“...Is that why?” she began, softly. “You don’t think you’ll fit in?”

Hanzo looked back to you, watching as embarrassment and shame twisted your expression. “Well,” you began defensively, “it’s not like...I…” You worried your bottom lip, seeming to struggle to find the right words. You sighed, finally, and dropped your face into your free hand, rubbing at your eyes. “I know they make fun of you, Asami. Y’know, for...for hanging out with me. The _gaijin_. No one else but you seems to take me seriously. And I get looks all the time, when I’m out in public...most people are welcoming, but I’ve had people bump into me purposefully before, and make remarks when they think I can’t hear. Or...when they know I can.” You shook your head slightly. “Guess they don’t think the foreigner can speak Japanese. And...I’m pretty sure that’s why all those guys agreed to go on blind dates with me. It’s because I’m _‘exotic’_ or...or whatever.”

Asami bristled, bracing her forearms and fists on either side of her plate. “It doesn’t matter what they think, most in that school have a superior streak a mile wide and…” She trailed off, her anger visibly dissipating as she took in your saddened demeanor. She exhaled quietly and her hands relaxed, one of them reaching out and resting on your shoulder. “I don’t care what they think about me. You’re a cool person, _Sakura_ , and I enjoy the time I spend getting to know you. You...you’re a lot better than most people I know. You’re open, and caring, and you’re not afraid to help someone when they need it...you don’t see that a lot, especially here in Hanamura. It seems like it’s every man for himself sometimes.” She paused, then dipped her head. “I’m sorry I pushed all those dates, I thought...I thought helping you find somebody would…”

“It’s okay, Asami,” you reassured her. “They didn’t turn out _terrible_...most of the time...so it’s not _that_ bad. I found some pretty cool places because of it.” You patted her hand. “I’m not holding it against you. I appreciate the gesture, really.”

Asami withdrew with a slow nod. A long moment of mutual silence passed, pensive and somber. Hanzo felt his tail twitch in response to the tension, uncomfortable at having been caught in a rather personal conversation. The movement seemed to have distracted you, however, and your eyes travelled over his long form. Finally, your lips twitched into a subtle, wry smile, and he stilled as he absorbed the odd light in your eyes. It...almost looked like fondness. “It’s a good thing we’re not men, then, huh?”

Asami blinked, then laughed. “Yes, that is true. Who needs men when we’ve got each other?”

You chuckled, too, then straightened when something seemed to occur to you. “Oh, wait!” You lowered Hanzo to the floor carefully before standing and moving quickly into the living room, returning with the small bracelet you’d acquired at the bookstore. “I thought you might would like this,” you said handing it to Asami with a bashful smile.

Asami lit up and took it, admiring the beads, before slipping it around her wrist and hugging you tightly. “I love it! _A_ _rigatou!_ ”

“You’re welcome,” you laughed, returning the hug before gathering both plates. Asami picked up your drinks and silverware and followed you to the sink, waggling her fingers at him with a grin as she passed. Hanzo started to protest, thinking you were going to dispose of your leftovers, but he relaxed when you reached into the cupboard above you and pulled out a small dish and collected the meat into it. Asami took your place at the sink and began to wash the dishes as you turned and scooped up Hanzo again, walking back into the living room and returning him to his bed. You placed the dish within reach and rubbed at his head with your thumb with a soft smile before disappearing back into the kitchen.

Hanzo ate, glancing through the doorway occasionally as he heard your conversation resume, albeit on a much lighter note. A few minutes later, the both of you were treading past him towards your bedroom chattering away excitedly like a couple of children. Evidently, you’d decided on watching the movie Asami had mentioned earlier, and Hanzo inwardly cringed when he heard the beginnings of it through the walls. Your friend seemed perfectly content turning up the volume to just the right level to irritate him.

In an attempt to ignore it, once he’d finished clearing the dish he dug up the corner of one of the blankets in the bed’s mass and wriggled his way beneath it, curling up until he felt comfortable and warm. Avoiding the feeling of being smothered, he poked his snout just far enough out to breathe.

Contentedly full and settled, he figured it wouldn’t take him long to drift back off into sleep despite the noise you two were making.

* * *

You two had been at it for _hours_.

Hanzo let out a strangled sigh and tried burying his head further into the mass of blankets, knowing the fact that he’d burrowed as far into the soft mass as he could. He’d given up on getting direct fresh air about twenty minutes prior. Still, he could hear your raucous laughter filtering through the walls, your companion’s incessant chattering in stunted English only heightening your hysteria. He was honestly surprised you hadn’t passed out from oxygen deprivation.

You let out a squeal right before there was a loud _thunk._ Hanzo jumped and cursed, but it came out as gargled nonsense. He wriggled his way out from under the blankets and dropped on top of them with a frustrated huff.

“Asami! You fricken _jerk!_ ” you cried through a massive fit of giggles, and he could scarcely hear it over said girl’s laughter. He heard the bedroom door open and you staggered into the living room, face flushed and a blinding smile lighting up your face. You called over your shoulder, “I’m getting popcorn, asshole - want any?”

If there was any intelligible response given, Hanzo couldn’t decipher it. You seemed to glean some meaning from it, however, and chuckled breathlessly as you padded into the kitchen in search of your quarry, rustling about and only seeding his ire.

Hanzo rolled his eyes, squeezing them shut and just wishing the both of you would _quiet down_. There wasn’t anything he could think of that could possibly keep you _that_ excited for _that_ long.

Except…

Hanzo watched you as you dumped a steaming bag of popcorn into a large plastic bowl, grabbing a couple more soda cans from the fridge before shuffling your way back from whence you’d come. You had a bright smile stretched across your flushed features, eyes sparkling with mirth and content as your hair - braided and shiny, as though it had brushed with loving care - swung in time with your movements. You disappeared from his sight into the hallway, and he heard the bedroom door click shut and your laughter resume shortly thereafter.

You and Asami had obviously been friends for a while, if your earlier conversation and subsequent interactions were any indication. Hanzo had never really had many friends, given the combination of his upbringing and his family, and he’d never really felt that he needed anyone else, except…

...Except for Genji.

Hanzo stopped, musing on the turn his thoughts had taken, before dismissing them and shoving them away. He’d do better to ignore it. He didn’t want to think about it ~~( _him_ )~~ right now, if ever. It only dredged up unwanted memories.

Hanzo dropped his chin on the blankets, closing his eyes. He wondered how you’d met the rather eccentric girl, and how you could stand her seemingly endless energy and enthusiasm. He doubted if she ever stopped talking, but...she seemed to care for you, and vice versa. He suspected that she was your only true friend in Hanamura, and a low simmer of anger returned when he thought of the people who you’d professed to mistreating you. You of all people deserved such passive aggression the _least_ of everyone he’d ever met. You weren’t even close to the worst person he’d interacted with, and while your seemingly endless sincerity and selflessness still puzzled him, he knew they were traits not many possessed.

...Including himself, if he were to be entirely honest.

~~(He wondered what Genji would’ve thought of you.)~~

* * *

“...Oh, shIT, ASAMI, _WE’RE LATE!_ ”

Hanzo jumped awake, his legs tense and splayed out beneath him as he looked from side to side with blurry, sleep encrusted eyes. The fur along his spine bristled and stood on end, his tail lashing the air in agitation. It took a few moments for his brain to catch up to his body, reminding him of his location and his circumstances and precisely who had shouted so deafeningly despite being two rooms away.

He sank bank into the warm blankets beneath him, the ache in his injured leg finally making itself known among the rapid rhythm of his heart in his ears and the adrenalin pooling in his belly. He let out a frazzled sigh, burying his face and squeezing his eyes shut in an attempt to calm himself. It was just you.

...And Asami. Unfortunately.

His hopes for silence were abolished when twin thumps of feet hit the floor, quickly followed by your bedroom door bouncing off the wall and you tearing out of the hall as though you had hell on your heels. You dashed into the kitchen, your tailwind rustling his fur, and he heard you activate the toaster right before you were running past him again.

He supposed this was karma returning to haunt him for waking you so abruptly the previous day. It seemed to be how his life was going to function now, anyway.

“Asami! Get up! We have to go _now!_ ”

There was a soft, protesting groan, before you must’ve hit the other girl with a pillow.

“ _Itai!_ Okay, okay, I’m up!”

“Get dressed, we don’t have time to shower - we’ve got to go _now!_ ”

“I heard you the first time!” Asami responded, seeming to be less stressed about the situation than you were. “I at least need to brush my teeth, my breath could kill a ma-”

“ _Go!_ ”

“I’m going! _Mō_ , I’m _going!_ ”

Mere moments later you were racing through the apartment again, fully dressed with your hair tossed up in a very haphazard ponytail, and he had to admit that he was rather impressed with how little time it’d taken for you to change. It was challenged by how quick you managed to fix a small breakfast for the both of you (only toast and bottles of fruit juice, but given Hanzo could scarcely cook an egg it was already ten times greater than his capabilities), and you were already tossing your bookbag over your shoulder when Asami stumbled out of the bathroom in the same clothes she’d worn the previous day. They were badly wrinkled, indicating she must’ve slept in them.

“Where are your books?” you pressed, voice strained with obvious stress.

“In my car,” Asami responded quickly, shoving at your shoulders. “Hurry up!”

She was the first out the door, and you fumbled for your keys before stepping out into the hallway. You surprised Hanzo by glancing in his direction, finding him on the pile of blankets, and giving him a rushed smile as you shoved your key into the doorknob and began to close the door. “Bye, Odon!” you called. “Be good! I’ll be back in a little while!”

The click of the door being locked and your twin pairs of footsteps retreating quickly were the only sounds that broke the nigh deafening silence that filled the apartment once they faded out. Hanzo stared at the door a long moment, trying to comprehend everything that had just happened. He gave up, finally, and sighed before curling back up and trying to empty his mind so he might fall asleep again.

You’d acknowledged him, despite your rush. He didn’t understand it, but that fact made him feel warmer than the lamp did.

 _...Ridiculous_ , he decided finally, though something told him the feeling wasn’t going to be so easily dismissed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I just realized I couldn’t have made this ending any more anime, could I?  
>  Again, I’m sorry it took so long to update - I promise this fic isn’t dead, it’s just really hard for me to carry plot for some reason - but I am trying, I promise! Please bear with me, I really want to see this fic through to the end.


End file.
